#unrelated did you know you can draw whatever you want its awesome

[canyourlawnmowerdothis]

the oc fandom is dying reblog if you love imagining weird guys having fucked up gay sex

#unrelated did you know you can draw whatever you want its awesome #pussygator proclamations

[sweet-star-cookie]

i made a note to myself when i was half asleep and all it said was:

so i assume that 2 am me wanted to ask you about everything that has to do with the skymirror circus. What constellations are currently involved with the SkyMirror circus? What is Ura's character and personality like?

i know i already sent another ask regarding the circus, but you did say if i had any specific questions about the characters, i could just ask so here i am :DD

also, completely unrelated to the question, but i googled the wikipedia page for former constellations (to figure out how to properly spell uranoscopus' name) and some of the former constellations are just absolutely hilarious as concepts:

and my personal favorite:

Haha that's awesome xD I seem to get my best ideas in the middle of the night so I make notes on my phone too, and while I remember the context most of the time, there are other times where I'm like "girl what???"

And yeeesss you have discovered the goldmine of hilarity that I did during my own research xD Early identification of constellations seemed to be a lot of "just put whatever up there" and I love that so much. That's why I encouraged you to make your own constellations for your story if you wanted to, it's fun :D

And now onto the circus! Also I find myself switching how I spell its name a lot (SkyMirror, Sky Mirror, Skymirror, etc.) so feel free to spell it however you'd like.

As a side note, I don't have all of the designs finished for these so I don't have the full lineup image yet, so I'll provide the individual art and the current WIPs instead. I'll start with noting characters who are adjacent to the circus or who are former members before describing the current crew, though I have talked about some of them in previous asks already.

Pisces (The Fish) - While she was never an official member of the circus itself, she is often credited as the source inspiration for it via her carefree dancing and swimming. Meeting many of the future members of the circus is part of why Pisces decided to share her water magic with all of the sea creatures, allowing them to perform out of water. Though Pisces does not take away this gift, she does take issue with how Ura chooses to use it, and helps fight back to stop her. Piscis Austrinus "Austri" (The Southern Fish) - Formerly a juggler and performer at the circus, especially with imitation based acts given her shape-shifting abilities. After the incident with Urania's Mirror, Austri left the circus and became a companion to Pisces, but still takes any opportunity she can to foil any of Ura's future plans, having insider knowledge of how she thinks and makes plans.

[I've shown some of her art before but here's her initial design sheet from 2019 for now, I'll be updating it later] Volans (The Flying Fish)

Formerly a high-flying acrobat at the circus, capable of quickly changing between his two forms and flying through rings in his acts. His overall temperament is anxious and flighty, with what little confidence he does have appearing in his performances. When things went awry with Ura, he attempted to escape but was unsuccessful, instead being captured by her. His cowardly nature made it difficult for him to be anything more than a hostage, used as leverage to draw out Ura's next targets. Musca (The Fly)

Not technically a member of the circus itself, but instead is Ura’s informant and literal “fly on the wall” to spy on others. She loves to gossip, and her ability to change into the size of an actual fly makes her difficult to catch or detect. She doesn't have much actual loyalty to Ura though, she is merely drawn to all the drama surrounding her, and will always save herself first if she's threatened.

-------- And now for the current members! Uranoscopus (The Stargazer Fish)

The crafty ringleader, exuding the charisma and bravado you'd expect from a seasoned performer and showrunner. She is well known for her death-defying tricks and revels in putting others in danger for the sake of a good show. The ring around her waist can transform into a mirror (Urania's Mirror that she stole, prior to its return) that can trap anyone who touches the glass inside it. The mirror is then dropped from on high, and the captive “volunteer” must escape before it shatters.

In her attempts to keep her fame alive, Ura becomes fixated on illusion magic, which is essentially a manipulation of light magic. She often uses her title of "The Stargazer" when introducing herself, referring to her species name but also this ability to see and create illusions. With practice, she is able to project these illusions onto others, increasing its range when wearing her goggles. This makes her attacks very beguiling and confusing for her targets, creating the characteristic misdirection of a magician and making up for her general lack of physical strength. She's equally as "slippery" in her escapes as she is in her conversations; a prime manipulator, clever and sharp-witted.

She is drawn to sources of astral power, which eventually led her to Ophiuchus via his connection to the Sun Starglass. She initially tried to convince him to use his power to suit her aim, but he ultimately refused, believing his power should be shared with everyone and worried that she was chasing unhealthy endeavours. After his disappearance, she still searched for him in the hope that he'd return.

Upon Cassie's arrival, she changed tactics. Using Musca to spy on her and get an idea of who they'd be dealing with, Ura decided to play the actor and appeal to Cassie's kindness, viewing her as nothing more than a naive child. And while Ura is able to successfully trick her at first, Cassie finds out the truth and doesn't take kindly to being lied to, making a powerful enemy out of her instead.

Hippocampus (The Sea Horse)

Essentially Ura’s "getaway driver" when tied to her circus wagon, and is sometimes dressed up for extra flair in a show. That said, the other constellations aren’t sure if it’s actually sentient or merely an illusion conjured with Ura’s magic, as it only seems to move on her command and sits eerily still otherwise. The only sound it’s known to make is a hollow, ghostly neigh… Xiphias (The Swordfish) and Dorado (The Dolphinfish)

A duo of knife throwers, essentially the "hired goon" types for Uranoscopus once her pursuit of fame goes awry. They use their knife throwing skills in a more combative sense compared to their act in the circus's heyday, and their dexterity and aim shows through with how dangerous they can be as a result. While Dorado is definitely the "brawn" of the two, calling Xiphias the "brains" would be charitable at best, despite what the confidence in his own mischief would tell you. Both can be quite cowardly if one of their hair-brained schemes goes wrong, but Xiphias is usually fast enough (and Dorado strong enough) to avoid getting captured, though they're usually clobbered a lot in the process! Despite sharing one brain cell between them, they genuinely look out for each other the most, with one bailing out the other in most cases. If both are caught, they stay together. Delphinus (The Dolphin)

[Current WIP, the thing in her mouth in the front view is a lit match. She's based on an orca/killer whale, which if you didn't know, is actually in the dolphin family!] The pyrotechnics expert and cannon operator, skills that translated rather easily to villainy as soon as Ura asked for it. When most think of a dolphin, they think of a more cutesy, playful figure like the previous incarnation of her constellation, but this Delphi had a different idea in mind.

Her large stature lends her natural strength, something she uses to hoist her large cannons to aim them more effectively, sometimes mounting them on her back or shoulders to make them semi-mobile. She's a force to be reckoned with and can go toe-to-toe with Cancer's claw cannons in a fight, making her difficult to take down. She likes to make things go boom, and often doesn't care about the damage caused, even if it's collateral or friendly fire. Ura will usually save her for a "bringing out the big guns" moment, especially if her enemies think they've won, and the destruction will usually let her and the others escape if necessary. Anguilla (The Eel)

[Current WIP, drawn before I decided to add him to the circus, so I will be changing his outfit to match that aesthetic later on. He's based on a ribbon eel, though he also has a few attributes of the electric eel as well.] Originally the circus's musician, a dancer, and a tight rope walker, often combining these in some way for his acts. He can play multiple instruments, but favours violin music overall. Even after his turn to villainy, his passion for music still shines through. For example, he refuses to simply rake his bow over the strings to make an unpleasant sound to hinder his enemies, so he'll instead use a good performance as a luring distraction, a bit like a siren song. If you are close enough to him or you hear his music for too long, there's a chance that the sound will temporarily paralyze you.

His long and slender body makes his movements very swift and flowing, like that of a ribbon dancer, so he is notoriously hard to hit. As a result, he is often the first member of the circus you see if you ever tried to track them down, casually playing his violin. For anyone unaware of his tactics, they don't think much of him until his paralysis kicks in, he escapes, and the rest of them attack!

#this post is a lot longer simply because of the art itself lol oops #thanks for the ask! ^_^ #asks #tabsters #my art #my OCs #Starglass Zodiac #SGZ #long post

[bigskydreaming]

remember when devin grayson wrote about green arrow flirting with teenager dick grayson and then bruce and dick have an incestuous relationship............................

Listen, I have no idea what this ask says, I just see a string of random letters followed by dot dot dot. 

In completely unrelated matters, the only dynamic between Dick and Ollie I abide by is one where the nicest thing Dick’s ever said to Ollie is something like “hey why does your face look like you killed a squirrel and glued it to your chin, is that what you were going for or do people just not like you and so nobody ever told you til now that that’s what it looks like.”

And even there, that’s still just the best Dick could manage (or was willing to even aim for) after Bruce gave Dick a totally and one hundred percent genuine and sincere Talking To about how he needed to be more polite to Ollie. Cuz the way I envision it, all that’s after Dick initially opened with something like, idk, “hey wanna hear a funny joke, it goes “what do you call a known Errol Flynn fanboy who thinks putting on a domino mask when he fights crime with a bow and arrow like, magically makes his goatee invisible? A dumbass who doesn’t get how secret identities work, that’s what. Get it, its you, you’re the joke.”

LOL for the record, I don’t actually hate Ollie and have no really strong opinions on him one way or another, it usually just depends on how he’s being written in whatever story or issue I’m reading with him. Its just canon that Ollie is like, one of the few people that Dick just openly can not stand, pretty much, with this stretching back far enough that personally, I like to headcanon it goes all the way back to even before Ollie took Roy in and has absolutely nothing to do with Roy whatsoever.

Idk, its just really fucking funny to me to picture that like, for whatever reason, ten year old Dick Grayson decided upon meeting the Justice League that they were all awesome except for Oliver Queen. Dick doesn’t know why, he doesn’t care why, he just knows that like, “I do not care for that Oliver Queen guy, not one bit, and no, I am not open to constructive criticism on this matter, UGH BRUCE STOP TELLING ME I SHOULD AT LEAST TRY AND BE NICER TO HIM, I SAID HE WAS A BUTTFACE AND I MEANT IT, WHERE’S THE CONFUSION.”

Because see, while Ollie is not Actually The Worst, he IS one of the League heroes who is prideful and petty enough to like, absolutely take offense to someone hating his guts for no discernible reason, while considering this more than reason enough to hate their guts right back. Even if that particular someone happens to have both miles and years left to go before they hit either puberty or the top side of five feet tall, and thus in the meanwhile, Ollie must literally lower himself in every sense of the word in order to return fire at his pint-sized and prepubescent critic.

Like, if Dick for whatever reason decided he just doesn’t like Superman or the Flash and he’s not gonna and you can’t make him, then I mean, Clark or Barry or someone else along those lines would just be like, oh, okay, that’s fair I guess. No, its totally fine Bruce, the adorable little human incarnation of glitter, cotton candy and all things Cute and Precious and Wee that you just took in is allowed to hate me if he wants to, its absolutely *wheezing sob* not a big deal. I’m a big boy, I don’t need you to intercede on my behalf with him. Now if anyone needs me, I’ll be wallowing in my room for the next 84 years, trying to figure out if I was some kind of monstrous puppy-kicker in a previous lifetime and that’s why my fate here in this one is to be despised by a ten year old with the superpower of Absolute Preciousness. Its my punishment, clearly, for being just the worst kind of monster to ever exist, the only kind that could actually be hated by someone like your adorable little Fun-Sized sidekick of joy and sunshine and l-l-laughter......no, don’t look at me, I’m hideous! *bursts into tears and scurries away to hide from the light*

But see now, Ollie, on the other hand, like.....he’s not a monster but he’s not about to let even some paragon of preciousness go around painting him as one. Why the fuck does he spend so much money on publicists if he’s just gonna roll over belly-side up the first time one of the people bad-mouthing him just happens to be like, a toddler instead of the usual TMZ?

So Ollie’s not about to admit that he’s actually miffed and even a little bit wounded that this cherub who seems to like even most supervillains more than he likes Ollie, just like, can not seem to be in his presence longer than sixty seconds before drawing his weapons and stabbing Ollie with words that hurt, dammit, because he has feelings too, y’know, he spent a lot of money on pricey therapists figuring out that yes, those are feelings he’s feeling and he can even name some of them.....

Like, he’s not quite on board with actually ACKNOWLEDGING that hey this stings, and that he really just wants to know what the hell this kid’s deal is and why don’t you like me, tiny human, what did I ever even do to you??? But all of that is like......Advanced Level Therapy stuff that he hasn’t quite gotten around to finishing yet at this point in time. Like yeah he’s already dropped a mint on the A-list of the head-shrinking world by now, but apparently he was supposed to keep coming back or something like that, they all keep making a really big deal about that for some reason, and look, he’s been busy. So he really just hasn’t had the time to finish up the course on How To Make Peace With the Fact That Sometimes Tiny Humans Don’t Like Me Even Though I’m A Fucking Delight, Dammit.

But even if the why of this kid getting under his skin so much eludes him for the nonce, Ollie is perfectly clear on one thing: he doesn’t typically go around making enemies of the twelve and under set, but if you prick him, he doth in fact bleed, you little prick. So if this knee-high nightmare is gonna keep coming at me and trying to start shit, then I am more than willing to throw down, is basically Ollie’s take here. 

“He wants to dance? Then c’mon, let’s do this thing. We can dance if he wants to. I’ve got the time,” Ollie says to himself and any other nearby Justice Leaguer who might be looking at him with that swiftly-becoming-familiar expression of mingled judgment, pity, exasperation and something a bit more ambiguous but which probably lands somewhere in the ballpark of “We honestly don’t know what to make of all of this but we’re all a little concerned This Is Not A Good Look, Bro. And also, we would like to formally request by way of this petition with all 200+ signatures of Leaguers and auxiliary members and support staff: please don’t escalate this into something where Batman might actually kill you, because that’s definitely not gonna make any of this less awkward for the rest of us, and uh....not to be indelicate here, but all those times we’ve all said things like no Ollie, we don’t think Bruce is a better fighter than you and we absolutely agree with you, you could totally maybe take him in a fair fight if you had your bow and arrows on you and he had the flu probably.....like. Umm. How to put this....Okay, soooooo....here’s the thing. There may, perhaps, ever so slightly be a possibility slash definite hardcore certainty that there were fib-like qualities to those conversations. A little bit. Oh hey, look at the time, we gotta run, there’s a fire somewhere, hopefully. Lol wait whoops did we say hopefully, that’s so weird like where did that even come from. We definitely meant to say probably. There’s a fire somewhere, probably."

But look, at the end of the day, the thing is, Headcanon Ollie is not like, proud of any of this, but he’s not unproud of it either. He is hashtag justified and he wouold appreciate some validation of that Ugly Truth, even if it might go against the grain and not ever exactly be a POPULAR opinion with the “please don’t tell the ten year old that nuh uh, his face looks like a hairy butthole, nobody wins there, that is not the victory you are looking for” crowd.

Honestly though, at this point Ollie’s list of Big Asks is quite small. Miniscule, even. All he wants, all he really really wants, is for someone, anyone, to join him in grasping the one essential corn kernel at the heart of this whole clusterfuck. The thing that nobody but Ollie seems to get and that Ollie’s pretty sure would be enough to allow him to die happily, if he could just manage to find one other person to sign on to the one single extremely obvious observation he keeps trying to point out to everyone, with a whole lot of nada to show for it:

Because see, the one thing about all of this that drives Ollie just absolutely up a wall, is that for some reason he can’t seem to get anyone to understand that like.....this whoooooole ridiculous mess, just like, even in terms of its very existence in the first place?

None of it is Ollie’s fault.

Dick started it!

Mere moments after frustratedly trying to convey this to Dinah for the umpteenth million bajillionth time:

“Okay, could you at least say something?” Ollie asked exasperatedly. “Anything? Seriously, I would take you counting to ten in Cantonese as an acceptable response at this point.”

“I’m just trying to decide which concerns me more,” Dinah said at last. Several epochs and the equivalent of the entire Jurassic Period later. But whatever, its not like Ollie was holding his breath at this point or anything. “The fact that you are genuinely trying to find and occupy the moral high ground in your feud with....a ten year old. Or that you actually think you’ve found it. That this is it, this is what that looks like. ‘The ten year old started it.’”

That was apparently all Dinah had to say. She fell silent again, and said silence lingered through a recreation of now the entire Cretaceous Period, before continuing into a revival of the whole Paleozoic Era from start to torturous finish.

“Well?” Ollie said with a patience that belied the urgency of the many pressing matters he had to attend to. Like the vanquishing of a ten year old archnemesis most foul.

Dinah just continued to frown pensively.

“Hang on, I’m still deciding.”

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness: I Let You Die IV

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Of course, we argued the whole way there about which we would follow once we arrived. “You just told me you think it’s the second most dangerous Grimm you’ve ever seen.” Her eyes narrowed at me and her nose did too, and she leaned forward. Forward into her walk, not at me.

I watched her slowly speed up and pass me. “Now you want to go chase the bandits? You just told me that they won’t kill again. That makes the Grimm the clear and present danger.

I didn’t speed up to match her. That would trap me in a cycle. I had to wait here and stand my ground. For a certain definition for somebody walking, that is. Besides I couldn’t really outpace her. She’d hopefully meet me in terms of pacing and more.

“Rationally.” I clarified. “If they’re behaving rationally that is.”

“They’re bandits.” She got a little quieter, I stumbled over my own feet. She didn’t turn around, but she probably heard it easily. “What’s so rational about that?

“Not crime in general.” I resumed my walk. “I meant what they want now. Theoretically they just used the Grimm as a weapon to destroy three places. They don’t need food or water or money for a while and if they want anything from the ruins they can realistically go and get it.”

“But the Grimm could kill now.” She wasn’t deterred. Maybe I wasn’t explaining right.

“I know.” I pleaded. She slowly fell into my rhythm again. Her pace coming to match mine beside me. “But they didn’t need to destroy three.”

That made her hesitate. “What?”

“I mean one is plenty, if they just wanted those things.” I tried to explain. “If they were just looking to survive, then even destroying a single town seems excessive. In the past-before the kingdoms, I mean-awakened-horseback-archers riders viewed civilized groups as livestock.”

“Where?” She wondered.

“Uh… everywhere I suppose. The steps of Western Vacuo and Equatorial Mistral, really, though. It’s still the dominant lifestyle in some of those places.”

“Pillaging?”

“No, well, maybe now.” I tried. I knew she was getting frustrated. “But before they just milked horses because that was the only way to live.”

She gave me a curious look, a small smile. “It was on a documentary I saw.” I defended. “Anyways, that’s not the point. Now we may see a return to those kinds of mind sets and lifestyles.”

“But that’s not happening here.” She caught on. “They’re doing something else?”

“Purposelessly killing people.”

“There’s never a good reason to kill somebody, Jaune.” The steel was back.

“Please let’s not get into that,” I begged. “And using the Grimm to do it, maybe.” I confirmed for her with a nod. She released a shaky breath and relaxed her shoulders.

“So, you want to go after them first? You think they’re going to do it again?”

I nodded, glad she was seeing my perspective. “I think we should double back to GaiLong again. I want to make sure they haven’t been watching us this whole time and waiting for us to leave.” I explained, talking even faster.

Her mouth opened a little at me, eyes drifting up at me. “But the Grimm and the tracks… it’ll just get worse if we wait any longer.” She leaned in, “besides they can handle it right?”

I was already shaking my head. “I don’t trust all of the guards back there. If our enemy are just bandits, why did none of the riders get intercepted? None of this makes any sense.”

“Jaune you can think yourself in circles if you worry about every minor thing. We have to trust that Beihfing has his situation under control.” She worried her lip between two fingers, looking far away in thought.

I really wanted to kiss her…

“Do you know where the bandits or whatever are going to do now?”

“I don’t know what they want.” I blinked it away and refocused. Besides there would probably be time for that later, maybe. We were on the job but…

She was staring at me.

Focus up, moron.

“If I did, I would tell you. I can only guess at their motivations.”

Her face grew tight, “so you don’t even know either, but we do know the Grimm.” She was getting a flow to her now. “And they kill all the time. Besides you said they used it as a weapon, right?”

I wanted to get an edge in. “Ruby-“

“Right. So, once they can’t do that anymore they’ll have to do something else, we can find them then or…”

“Or let them go?” I wondered. “Ruby they’re malevolent.”

“So are the Grimm.” She was unrelenting and didn’t even look at me.

“Not with this kind of intent.”

“At Beacon the Grimm were coordinated.” Ruby pressed me more. “Even besides the ones the White Fang dropped. They moved together.” When I didn’t say anything, she looked over. “At Beacon when the Dragon showed up.” She waited for me to figure it out. “They sort of shuddered in unison. You didn’t see?”

What the fuck.

I told her as much.

She just nodded looking grossed out. “They have motive and focus. I know I sound crazy, but Cinder was talking to it. I heard her.”

She gave me this challenging look. It wasn’t some cute flirty thing, like about my sword or something. It was sharp and full of focus but more than that it was angry and a little scared. Her eyes were hard but the corners of her lips and eyebrows were turned out.

She actually seemed to want me to fight her on it, but I just raised my hands in surrender. “Ruby I believe you.”

“So, the Grimm are the enemy.”

“Its sounds like Cinder was somehow in charge to me.” I tried. Her sideways backwards glance conveyed a deep annoyance.

“You’re always so focused on Cinder you can’t see the Grimm for what they are. These bandits are just people, but the Grimm are always, always the enemy.”

I suddenly realized I was walking much faster than I had even a few moments ago, Ruby was already speeding up again.

I sighed.

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Before, the two of us had been distracted as we’d approached Shion. This time we were both wary and ready. Ruby had felt the danger even before the destroyed village came into view. She’d casually pulled her weapon in the middle of the road, not even extending the scythe.

By the time we’d seen the place even I had felt it and we both knew it would be as empty as we’d left it. The recent dead would draw Grimm here like a beacon, spawning them? Summoning them?

It hardly mattered to Ruby because as soon as we approached the gate she’d disappeared in a blur of speed. A haze that seemed to shift from building to building.

It didn’t look like anything worth spending ammunition on to her, so she didn’t. Instead she almost lazily bounced from place to place, leaving bisected Beowolves and Creeps in her wake.

For my part I drew Crocea Mors and let them rush at me. Before, in Vale, I’d been forced to nearly wrestle the wolf-caricatures behind my shield. I was stronger and faster now, and the range afforded to me by the upgrade allowed me to cut them down before they could really approach me.

I stepped aside and Ruby landed next to where I had been standing to cover me from the sides.

“Doesn’t seem like too many.” She reported, “nothing big, either.”

“Heard.”

We slowly and efficiently worked our way through the weakest Grimm, clearing a path to the foot prints. She whirled around my sides, cutting anything that came too close into ribbons. For my part I held my ground against the monsters to anchor us.

Two swings removed the head and leg of a Beowolf and I stepped on a Creeper’s head as it tried to bite me and crushed it easily.

By the time we arrived at where we knew the footprints began, the Grimm were nothing but curls of smoke.

“Jaune!”

“Hm!” I looked up quickly, trying to spot whatever it was that she wanted me to see. I glanced towards her to look where she was looking and look over there so I could look out for whatever it was she saw.

She was just staring at me, though.

“What are you doing?”

“What?” I wondered.

“How are you doing that?”

“Ruby what are you talking about?”

“You’re glowing!”

I looked down at myself. Odd bands of blue light were trailing around me. They almost looked like fire but if they were hot, I couldn’t feel it. The wisps seemed ignorant of gravity, clinging only to me and my skin in soft trails of blue and white.

Ruby walked up to me. “What is this?"

She rolled her eyes. “That must be your semblance!” She reached out and traced a hand through one of the tendrils.

“Um…” I didn’t want to sound too disappointed. She was so excited. I was kind of hoping for more than ‘glow a little.’ “Neat?”

“How does it feel?”

“The same.” I thought about it. “I don’t know. Is it doing anything?” I stepped back from Ruby as though it would give me a better look at myself for some reason and the light faded away.

“What did you do?” She wondered. “It went away.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose.”

She frowned. “Well it didn’t seem immediately obvious.”

“Was yours like that.”

“Um…” She turned an awesome rosé. “Kinda.”

She turned away to examine the hoof marks in the ground trailing away from the village.

I kept a watch, resting Crocea Mors against my arm, while Ruby peered down to get a better look at the print. It wasn’t like she was unfamiliar with it or couldn’t tell which way it was going. “I forgot how big it was… do you think the villages were just destroyed by a horde-phenomena?”

I shrugged. “It seems unlikely, the villages were in a non-linear order. It would have taken an awful coincidence for it to be just a large group of Grimm chasing the closest sadness and growing larger.”

“The bandits.” I nodded at her words. She chewed her cheek for just a moment. “Let’s go, we’re already almost a week behind it.”

It wasn’t like Ruby had really compromised my plans. Not truly, it was always really a toss up which we followed and which town would be destroyed next seemed just as random. Sure, I had some suspicions about GaiLong but Ruby dismissed it when I tried to bring up doubling back one more time.

“Jaune if they are watching us and waiting for us to go far enough away, then you won’t catch them like this and what are we going to do, we can’t stay in every place we go.”

Hopefully the two of us could track it and slay it together. Or, failing that wound it, track it, and try again. It would heal but Ren implied that its regeneration wasn’t a factor in the mid-game of a fight. Only if it actually escaped us would we regret having wasted our resources but wounding the creature and forcing it to flee wasn’t a waste, per se. It could be a tool, too. We had a lot of ground to make up. We were almost a week behind it when we left GaiLong and unlike us, it didn’t need to sleep, eat, or do anything but wander.

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It was after the fourth day of tracking that it finally rained. We’d known it was going to happen, too. After the first crack of thunder, Ruby let out a low whine.

“No,” she just pleaded. It would still be hours before the rain came and washed most our tracks away.

She was tired and wet and cold. And I really wanted to get her into the tent and into her sleeping bag.

I didn’t know what to do or say. We could both see the storm coming, feel the wind pick up and the humidity increase. I could do nothing but start to look for a good place to set up a tent.

Ruby and I had done some light training, but you really didn't push yourself or work out much when you were trying to catch up to something like this. For my sake it was time to take watch and just to top my night off I had to be especially on guard tonight.

It was unusual for me to stay focused on watch, but I had to. I could feel something. It didn't feel like a person or anyone I knew so it was probably not nothing but the equivalent. Grimm.

I waited until it got close enough that I was sure I could destroy it without letting my senses drift from where Ruby slept.

I was sitting out waiting for the creature to stop nagging at my range and actually enter. It was just pacing around my range and eventually I'd had enough.

I kept my body low and my limbs out, but stealth wasn't my strong suite. It jumped through the bracket at me rather than I at it.

I moved in a burst, sweeping the long blade between us to stop its approach. It pushed me back a step and my ankle caught something.

I tripped and it fell on me. My armor held out it's claws buts its teeth snapped at my aura. I grunted and threw it off of me.

It was an Ursa. a different bone structure for a different part of the world but that seemed to be all the difference between those here and those in Vale.

It landed but rolled towards me quickly with a snarl but as I stood, I held my ground. I already knew how to deal with these. I swept Crocea Mors downwards over my head and cut its face diagonally and deep enough that I'd opened up large sections of its ribcage.

It fell and began to dissolve. I stepped back warily. I felt nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

I listened and heard no song of Grimm. The animals had gone quiet, too. Fearing a battle between two distant predators might involve them, but it was already over.

Then distinct, in the cold night distant, the zip of the tent.

I sighed.

"Jaune! Jaune, what was that." She was in thick socks that probably didn't feel good in the wet, icy, muck.

She had Crescent Rose ready though. Her biceps and triceps stood out in her shirt. She had nothing on but her simple T and some long bottoms in the night.

I stared at her white clothes in the sleet before coming to my senses. “It was just a small Grimm.

Everything’s fine.”

She breathed hard. “You're supposed to wake me up.”

You needed sleep and it was nothing I couldn't handle.

I looked her up and down. There was brisk and then there was being in PJs, in negative ten, with a wind chill, and at ninety-five percent humidity.

I walked over and dragged her into the tent. I flicked the flap open, but the inside was frigid. Just a few moments of being open had sapped whatever warmth was inside. “You can't act like this was my fault.

“You're supposed to wake me.”

I nodded and rubbed her hands in mine. I pulled her wet socks off too. Her feet were just chilled to the absolute bone. I was considering trying to start a fire.

“Say something!”

“Huh what? You're right. I should have woken you up. Come on get some new socks on and get warm.”

“I feel like I need a can opener with you; you’re just so it's like -ugh. Aren't you frustrated?”

“No, I am.” I assured her.

“Well why aren't you showing it?” Ruby wrapped her arms around her knees under her covers. “And your semblance too, you’re not excited at all when it activates when we train.”

“It only activates when I’m losing, doesn’t last long, and doesn’t do anything but make me glow.” I shook my head and laughed a little.

It was fitting though, if I’d had this power at Beacon I would have been just as able to help Pyrrha.

She hit me hard, enough sting. I gasped, my hand going to my chest where her hand hit my side, through some gap in all my armor she’d casually exploited to jab at just one of my ribs past a strap.

“You were thinking you were useless again. Weren’t you, Jaune?”

Fuck.

“I’m sure it does more than make you look good.”

Whiplash.

I waited.

“Well.” She wondered.

“Well to what in all of that?”

“All of it!”

“I was trying to keep up the pace and find it and be on our way to Haven.”

“So, it’s because I need to get to Haven.”

“Well that is your plan.” I laughed and turned to look at her.

“Ugh.” She murmured and looked down.

Huh?

“What is it? Is it something I said?”

She didn't look impressed by that. She crossed her arms confidently and set herself sideways. “Then what's it like? I forced you out here. To come with me to Haven and trek all the way across the world with me. Even though I had no idea how far that was.”

"Ruby I did know how far it was. And I did know that if you hadn't…"

If she hadn't what, exactly? I was trying to fight but it was hard. It was a little like Weiss had rubbed off on Ruby, in some of her best ways. I'd found that confidence and authority attractive before but when it was directed at me it was hard to fight.

What could I possibly tell her? That I needed her to tell me what to do and give my life direction? She just told me how stressed she was I couldn't add to that. Couldn't have. I clicked my jaw in thought.

My teeth clacked together audibly.

She looked from my eyes to my jaw. Like I'd just bit her hard. “You shouldn't do that to yourself.”

I laughed. “That's what I mean. What would I do if I didn't have you right now? If you hadn't taken me in, I don't know where I would have gone.”

“You would have found something.”

No. My family. I stole this from them. I can't go back. And Nora and Ren they got in with like a scholarship for hunters-to-be without parents or something. They were homeless again. I think they thought I'd abandon them.

“So, when you asked me to come it was just-it was a no-brainer. What would I have done? What l alternatives would I have had. And if I hadn't gone with you, would I have found Pyrrha’s armor even? Would I know for sure what happened? It was like destiny. And this is too.”

“You really think so?” I watched her hands fidget through her hair, somehow plucking at the red ones even out of the corner of her eye. “Well no, it’s more like I need to make this the timeline where I succeed, but we can. You know?” She shook her head. “You think if we're smart and hardworking enough, it'll be enough? That's not like you.”

“Ruby this is just a setback. Even if it takes months. We have no timetable for getting to Haven. No tournament. No obvious target beyond the school and city which should be in a state of high alert.”

Supplies still got traded as far as here so we know the blackout-panic hadn't destroyed the place.

Haven was probably still there, Just waiting for her, even if it didn’t know it.

“But what about your semblance?” She pressed me. “You and me. Are we making progress there?”

“We’ll have to time figure out to use it.” If it had a use.

“Tss” I let out as I clutched a rib.

“You and me.”

“Us?” I wondered stupidly.

“What are we, Jaune.” She glanced at me. “What am I to you?”

Good question.

I thought about it. It wasn't like I could just say she was my partner because that had connotations to huntsmen. If I just blurted out, she was my new partner it would hurt everyone. Besides she had made it clear that Weiss was her best friend. Whatever that meant to her.

"You're my oldest friend for sure." I told her. I knew that much. Whom was there before Pyrrha? Family didn't count. "Things are rough for me right now but it wasn't like I didn't think about you before, too.”

“That's not fair,” she whispered. “Pyrrha was…She made it clear she liked you a lot.”

Ouch. But…

“You were so nice and sweet to me when I didn't deserve it. I could always count on you for advice and it was always good. “

“I don't know…” she trailed off. She pinched her lower lip between her index and thumb. She was listening close, her eyes intense on my every word. “Even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. So, it sounds dumb to say something like boyfriend, but you can if you want.”

“We're a couple.” Ruby translated listening closely. “You make things so complicated.”

“The thing about that is-“

“Do you love me?”

“Uh, yeah”

She smiled flushing, but she managed to roll her eyes and look right at me. For a moment I could hear nothing but the rain against the tent.

"Jaune I need you to better than 'uh yeah.'" she smiled adorably. It took me a second to realize she was teasing me. By the time I did so, my eyes flicked down to her lips and back up to her eyes. It was too late. Her smile roared across her face.

“You really want to kiss me, don't you? You can. You know. Maybe not all the time but you can kiss me.” I did. I pushed her back against her thin mattress. I could feel her hip bone against my abdomen and the smooth curve of her sides. I put my hands around her back and pulled her in close to my and she let out a tiny sigh.

Her mouth opened in the slightest way and I couldn't help my-self. My tongue went forward at the same time I rolled us more forward, pinning her more beneath me.

She groaned into it, smiling into the kiss as I sucked on her tongue, then lip, then pulled away. Or tried to.

I drew back slightly but she had a tight grip on my shirt with her left hand. I hadn't even noticed. And her other hand became nestled in my hair.

She just… giggled at me, and, without so much as opening her eyes, dragged me down again.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq​

I got down off the back of the animal before Ruby. She was already waiting for me there.

She called the its name and it came when called. She didn’t even need to pull her hair back as she rode, either, she somehow looked relaxed and focused. To be honest I was just so amazed to even watch her move above me.

She slung her legs up and over it and gently held the pommel in one of her small hands. The tips of her fingers just enough to reassure. She hardly needed it for balance she was so graceful.

Her other hand was firmly in the mane of the stallion’s mane. After the night in the rain, we’d returned to Higanbana where they’d offered us horses. They’d already been made aware of our affairs and the local Dono was not to be out down by GaiLong, evidently.

I’d explained to them that an unless they had an awakened horse, they would not be able to carry me, let alone the both of us. Mei-Chi had smiled at me and I knew I would regret it.

“Who taught you how to ride?” I wondered.

“Oh, my mother showed me how when I was young. It’s easy if you know how to care for it.” Or you’re a Nisdy Princess. I watched how easily she controlled it and made it calm. Sure, it was trained but when I’d been encouraged to take the lead on the animal it had given me nothing but contempt.

“Do you know how?” She wondered. “You’ve somehow expertly dodged climbing on the back of one.” She stroked it gently with her hands. Enjoying the sensation.

“I… know the basics,” I hedged. “I have ridden before.”

“Yikes, that bad, huh.” she teased me, and I groaned. “But not in a while and with someone else.”

I shook my head, “this’ll be a first for us.”

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

#rwby #Lancaster #Jaune Arc #Ruby Rose #jaune arc x ruby rose #vol 4 #altsemblance #Cloud Strife #motion sickness #Limit Break #crossover #Ryuugi style #Aerith Gainsborough #Cloud x Aerith #FF7 #war of the roses #eventually

[aliceslantern]

Retribution, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 6

Newly a person again, Ienzo is weighed down by guilt and his humanity. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to atone... only to find unexpected solace in a familiar face. With more insight into the bonds between people than ever before, Ienzo reaches for a dangerous element from the past to help Kairi and Riku in their search for Sora. What is his life if it means saving another, brighter light?

Chapter summary:  Ienzo grows closer to Demyx, but that closeness quickly becomes a confounding variable.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

He tried to let himself grow . He spent those few hours in the lab, with Even and Ansem and Kairi. Dutifully, he continued to feed himself and sleep the requisite eight hours. He practiced normal black magic, unrelated to his power. Occasionally, considering they were now “friends,” he spent time with Demyx.

Ienzo wasn’t sure if he were simply unused to casual conversation, or if Demyx were truly eccentric. He did have quite a lot of amusing stories about his customers, as well as Scrooge, who was by all accounts quite the character. So slowly, Ienzo began to stop seeing their relationship as it used to be, and began seeing it as it was. After all, Demyx was one of the only people he knew roughly his age.

They walked, got lunch and endless cups of coffee. Ienzo found himself… looking forward to it, whenever Demyx asked him to meet up, rather than dreading those texts. A handful of times he accompanied Demyx on deliveries, and found to his surprise that he was indeed competent at his job. Scrooge tried to rope Ienzo into porting as well, in his own jovial, oddly-accented way, and he had to evade out of the conversation quickly.

But beneath these pieces… something else began to emerge, something Ienzo initially confused for companionship, or kinship. A warmth, a start of the heart. He no longer minded when Demyx touched him casually in conversation--a hand on the shoulder, a playful punch, a “hey come on” take of the hand when going somewhere. The touch… evoked something in him, vague and weirdly insidious.

Ienzo began to notice things.

The subtle way his hair blended, brown to blonde, the way he seemed to be so slowly growing it into something different. The precise color green his eyes turned when light hit them just right. How easily he moved through space, how comfortable he was in his own body. The way his lips moved when he spoke, the rhythm of his speech.

Why was it Ienzo was focusing on these things? What did it mean?

On the verge of sleep, weighed down by one of his pills, it came to him.

Oh. Oh no.

In his brief hours in the lab he was distracted, terrified. He thought he’d understood this as a Nobody, but it was clear he’d had no idea.

His humanity was waking up. So were… other things.

Demyx had mentioned a desire for a partner of some sort. Unlikely at the time he’d meant Ienzo. Ienzo had written all of that off as too difficult to compute. He figured he may be asexual and was fine with that. He’d no need for anything physical. Messy. Complicated.

He… was not asexual.

Ienzo began to feel something almost like a pull, between them. A desire for that innocent touch, a squeeze of the hand. Was it possible he felt this way because, again, Demyx was the only person he knew his age? It seemed natural that, with the awakening of these feelings, he’d latch onto whoever was closest.

It made him feel pathetic, and not quite in control of himself, not that he changed his outward interactions. If emotions were difficult to reign, hormones were completely impossible. He started having vague dreams of longing--arguably worse than the nightmares--and woke up frustrated in a wholly new way. Difficult, and embarrassing, to be finishing puberty at this age. He said nothing about it to anyone. Those few times he woke to find stains on his sheets and clothing, he took care of it and pretended nothing happened.

Why did this have to be happening now ? Of all the confounding variables?

Ienzo needed to ride out this attraction until its inevitable end. To even entertain the idea of anything more substantial than quickly-quashed daydreams was insane. So, sweetly he asked Even if, considering he’s feeling so much better , he may add a few more hours to his day, and thank you so much for the medicine . Ego stroked and paternity soothed, Even agreed. With his remaining hours, he began so tentatively to work on his power.

He could still manipulate the lexicon with relative ease, so that had been gained. Finding the illusion was going to be so much harder. He spent hours trying to recall how that felt, to create things where there was nothing, then trying to draw simple objects from memory. And they were drawings, barely-perceptible flickerings in the air, but the exertion still made him gasp for breath. Though it was progress. At least Ienzo had something to tell Kairi and Riku when he saw them face to face, or over the phone. At least he could give them hope.

But Demyx wasn’t that easy to brush off. “Zo, are you ignoring me?” he asked. His tone was joking, but Ienzo felt vaguely caught. (And vaguely angry that “Zo” was growing on him.)

“I’ve been taking a few more hours since I’ve been doing better,” he said.

“You’re not… pushing it too hard, are you?” he asked.

“I’m trying not to.” And he was; with magic use, he needed to be doubly careful how he treated his body.

Was it the light, or did he blush? “I miss our hangouts.”

Just the right thing to trip Ienzo up, to make his heart flutter-- it’s merely hormones, control yourself. “As do I.”

“I mean, I know this is like, important, big-picture stuff. But…” He hesitated. “Do you… have time, later? Just to talk?”

The sensible thing to do would be to nicely brush him off. “Maybe a few moments,” he said instead. How strange, to be at odds with his mind. A first.

He smiled. It was a wide, uncontained grin, one that changed his face, made it seem softer. “The greenhouse?”

Ienzo nodded once. “I’ll see you then.”

Only once he had returned to scouring data did he realize that getting both of them together in an enclosed, private space was one of the stupider moves he could’ve made. Demyx had blushed. Demyx had smiled. Was it possible that this… whatever it was… was mutual? Or was Demyx also merely feeling the backlog of hormonal impulses blunted by Nobody biology?

(And did it matter? Would it be so terrible to explore these feelings?)

(Yes, it would. Should it go south--the likely conclusion--they still lived together. He didn’t need more tension in his life.)

Ienzo should’ve made up an excuse that night and stayed in. He didn’t. He was so unused to managing impulses that he simply didn’t . Or at least, that’s what he told himself.

The summer evening was cool, and he could hear the soft chirp of crickets. The air felt nice on his skin, freed at last from that infernal white coat and ascot at the throat. There was already a warm light emanating from the greenhouse, meaning Demyx was already there.

Not too late to turn back.

He took a deep breath. Took two.

The music he heard was soft, meandering, inviting. He’d never really listened to Demyx before when he played sitar, stubbornly tuning it out. Ienzo realized he was rather good , technically and aurally; it sounded light, effortless, the notes graceful and leaping like water. The boy’s power made sense, now. It all flowed.

Demyx wasn’t a scientist, but he was a student in his own ways. Ienzo felt the blood rush to his face. His hands trembled. His own internal protests were quickly waning. He opened the door. “Are you early, or am I late?”

Demyx looked up. The melody didn’t quite cease. “Believe it or not, I can actually be on time.”

“...Sorry about that.”

“I wanted to work on this anyway.”

Ienzo sat on one of the cushions. The space smelled vaguely like incense, a heady but oddly clean scent. “That’s something of your own creation?”

“Yessir.”

“I suppose you were always… composing, creating. Is it very much different, now that you’ve a heart?”

Demyx snorted. “It’s harder.”

Ienzo cocked his head. “Really?”

“It’s easy to… approximate emotion,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “You know, this sounds like love, or anger, or whatever. To really feel those things, and then, say, to try and work on something with a completely different theme, is like wading through concrete.”

Hearing him speak so technically made Ienzo’s blush worsen. He wanted to reach out and take one of his hands. He gripped his ankle in an attempt to stop himself. “Have you been at this long?”

Demyx chuckled. “At least five years. Probably before that, I would guess, but… there’s nothing.” His expression changed, became wistful.

“Still? After all this time?”

He let the sitar vanish. The silence was particularly notable. “Yeah. I…” A laugh. “I had Even look at me. Neurologically, I think it’s called? There’s nothing… physical about the memory loss. So it must’ve been… whatever brought me here, from the past.”

“Forgive me… I quite forgot that’s the truth of your life.” Even had told him as such, scowlingly, in disbelief.

Demyx shrugged. “You’ve got a lot on your mind. Sometimes I forget.”

“Do you want your memories?”

He leaned back on his hands. “I go back and forth,” he said. “On the one hand, not knowing about the trauma that’s, uh, for sure there is awesome. On the other… it’s like… who am I really, you know?”

“I remember everything, and I feel much the same,” Ienzo said softly.

His smile was sad now. He reached into a crate and pulled out two bottles.

“Beer?”

“Nah. I hate beer. Cider. It’s sweet. Want it?”

Ienzo doubted one drink would kill him. “...Why not.”

He popped the top for him. “Ha. That’s the spirit. I mean. You are legal.”

He scoffed a little. The drink was fizzy, sweet and also metallic. It was a taste of summer, he thought. “I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you this is my first real drink.”

“Really?”

“...I was too young. Then, I never wanted to… cloud my mind.” Ienzo sighed. “I wouldn’t mind taking the edge off things.”

Demyx laughed a little. “Hate to break it to you, but I only have the two and I doubt you’ll get turnt off that.”

“...You’re probably right.”

“Maybe you and me could go to the bar some time. Try it out.”

He looked into the mouth of the brown bottle. “Not sure nightlife is for me.”

“You never know until you try something.”

“I… suppose I should never say never.” After all, he’d never thought he’d like sitting here with Demyx, their knees almost touching. “Maybe. Yes, that might be nice.”

For a few moments they finished their drinks in silence. He definitely wasn’t drunk, or even tipsy, but he did feel a little warm. The lantern cast softened the room, almost pinkish. Perhaps it was the memories of calm here, perhaps it was the ambiance or simply not being alone, but Ienzo found himself… relaxing. The sudden lack of tension in his muscles felt strange. “I remember why I used to love this place. It’s very calming.”

“On a good day you can see the stars,” Demyx said. “Look. Here.” He reached over and snuffed out the lantern. “Lay back.”

The cushions were odd, lumpy. It wasn’t totally dark; there was enough moonlight for the silhouettes to be clear. Ienzo looked up through the crystal ceiling. “Been a while since I looked up,” he said.

“Yeah.”

“The feeling of insignificance. But it’s surprisingly reassuring.”

“You think?”

“Well, the world is bigger than just us, don’t you think?”

“I do,” he said softly.

Ienzo could feel Demyx looking at him. A nervousness, a fizz, spread throughout his body, completely different than anxiety. Arguably, the opposite of it. He should fight this. Should get up and leave right now. Instead, he shifted, just slightly, onto his side so they were locking eyes. With a shaking hand, Demyx touched his cheek, a touch that made him shiver.

“...I…” Demyx’s voice cracked. “Have you also been… feeling this?”

So it was mutual. Oh. Oh, no. He tried to keep it together. He had to fight this. Didn’t want to. “Yes,” he admitted.

“Oh,” he said, very softly, with the same sort of fear Ienzo felt.

“I know.”

“I tried to stop.” He almost sounded as though he might cry.

“Me too.”

“What do we--do?”

“Well…” That touch did feel so nice. “As I see it… there are two options. We both walk out of here and forget this ever happened.”

“Or?”

He took a trembling breath. “We see it through.”

“What do you want?”

“I think…” He was trembling all over. “I think I would like to stop thinking.”

There was a moment when they both very clearly knew what was about to happen, but did nothing. Demyx inched closer to him, so they were almost touching; Ienzo could smell him again, the salt and ginger. He rested his hand on Demyx’s waist, and feeling the warmth of him under clothing was purely too much.

They both met in the middle, awkward, not quite meeting one another’s lips the first time. Ienzo shifted up a little and tried again. Demyx’s lips were so soft against his own. It became clear very quickly that neither of them had done this before; they weren’t sure what to do. For some reason Ienzo figured Demyx had some experience. After a moment they pulled apart.

“I suppose,” he began softly, still reeling more from the fact that he’d kissed more than the kiss itself, “It’s rather obvious I’ve never done this.”

He laughed a little. “I don’t think I have either--if I did, I don’t remember.”

“A learning curve, then.” He’d figured it’d have been natural, instant. He thought of the feel of Demyx’s lips. “Let’s try again.”

“Okay.”

It took a moment or so of fumbling and discomfort before they seemed to get it. This was more what Ienzo thought it would feel like, a fragile give and take. It was all so gentle . They were both shaking. He hadn’t realized how exhausting fighting this attraction had been. Giving into it made him feel more awake than he had in days.

He wanted to go further. Couldn’t. Already a dangerous frazzle of overstimulation was breaking over him. He wasn’t used to platonic touch, much less this; he was overloading his own wires.

“I like this. I do,” Ienzo said. He felt his eyes watering, an anxiety of too much too much threatening his tenuous moment of joy. “But I’m so… it’s so much. I have to…” He sat up and pulled away, shivering as if he were cold.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m afraid as a human… I get very overwhelmed by stimuli,” he forced out. “I used to as a child.”

“Oh,” he said softly. “Can I… how can I help?”

“I need space. Calm, quiet.”

“Should I go?”

He considered. Despite it all… the last thing he wanted to be was alone. “No, stay.”

#retribution #ienzo #demyx #zemyx

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Bob Snow

Directed by: John Aoshima

Storyboard by: Jean-Sebastien Duclos, Mark Garcia, Tanner Johnson, John Ramirez

I wouldn't call this a creek, either.

This episode starts with Scrooge and the boys paying a visit to a Gala dedicated to a newly opened Glomgold Wing at the Natural History Museum. The joke is that all of the exhibits are just whatever he can salvage from Scrooge's past adventures, and some outright falsehoods. Dewey even talks about how he's trying way too hard. Dewey's right...in maybe too many ways.

Scrooge, obviously not a big fan of this duck who tries to murder him any chance he can, is only there to support Duckburg's cultural institutions as an upstanding citizen. Oh, and to steal Glomgold's cocktail weenies and teriyaki skewers. The irony is that it's Louie that calls him out for this. That seems out of character for him, though it might be due to his suit giving him a rash.

As the boys follow Scrooge's lead in taking a bunch of buffet food, one of the guests of honor walks in the room. Scrooge drops his bag and gasps at the sight at this familiar-to-him face. The nephews ask him if his gasp is about a curse, a villain, or a villainous curse, but it's even worse than that.

Scrooge: ...it's my ex! (gulp)

🎵Life is like a hurricane...🎶

Well, that's one way to do a cold open.

Specifically, it's Goldie O'Gilt. He clarifies that she's an ex-rival and ex-partner, but the boys do not buy it. Scrooge gets the boys, and anyone in the audience who hasn't heard of this legacy character, ready by telling them to watch their wallets. They trade insults to each other, Scrooge saying that she has cloven hooves, and Goldie calling him a tightwad. Well, it is a fitting name for someone who takes hors d'oeuvres from a buffet. I learned just now that’s how you spell those words.

While the insults both disturb and intrigue Dewey, Glomgold shows up to tell Scrooge that Goldie happens to be his date. Even before she says anything, her body language clearly indicates he doesn't want anything to do with this man. Once the music starts playing, Scrooge and Goldie start dancing. He tries a second plan: dancing the same kind of dance with Dewey. I don't have a comment for that one.

After that, Glomgold decides to reveal the main attraction: a skeleton of a "Glacial Klondike Monster" his oil crew managed to dig up in the Yukon. Unlike the Glomasaurus Rex, which was clearly made up of random dinosaur bones, this exhibit is legitimate. The lights go out, and the mammoth's head disappears. No, it's not another mystery story, or another ghost story for that matter. Scrooge looks around and finds a certain someone missing, and he hot-tails it out of the gala.

While Launchpad drives Scrooge and the boys to the Mansion, it will make sense to how he would know about where she went later, the boys want to know more about "Scrooge's new old giiirlfriend", while they all make literal duck-lips. Yeah, that's their only real character trait they have for the rest of the episode. While DuckTales 2017 gave the boys far more distinct personalities, this episode is not a good example of that. Wait, Huey, Dewey, and Louie acting identically? No way!

They do get to be the audience of another Scrooge McDuck flashback to a time long before Donald or Della. We’re getting into “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck”-like material here. From what I've read, it's a very loose adaptation; no Goose Egg Nugget here.

They go into a cave in the White Agony Plains to find the titular Golden Lagoon. Suddenly, Goldie, in her scheming ways, decides to steal the map to find the lagoon for herself. Scrooge manages to catch her, but the map gets torn in half. Suddenly, the "Glacial Monster" shows itself, being what might be the last of the Wooly Mammoths. Goldie’s part of the map ended up stuck in the mammoth’s teeth, and over a century later, that same mammoth's skeleton ended up in Glomgold's Gala. We get a shot of the skeleton with a map sticking out of its teeth, which wasn't shown before when we got a shot of it before, but never mind.

Yes, I really mean a century later. While they don’t specify the exact year, Scrooge is definitely referring to the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896. Huey, in one of the few times he gets to show off his personality, starts counting on his fingers and outright asks how old Scrooge is. He obviously does not answer that question, but this episode gives a rather decent explanation beyond "it's just a cartoon, so just relax".

While running from the Wooly Mammoth, Scrooge and Goldie jumped into a freezing lake, causing them to be stuck in an ice cube for 5 years. In fact, this episode confirms this isn't the only time they've been in situtations that made them age slower. The dance scene from earlier shows them talking about a fountain of youth and several timeless demon dimensions. In an unrelated note, Goldie also offhandedly mentions a necklace that prevents burns, which the camera zooms into for a few seconds. I did not think much of this on my first viewing.

After the story that was captivating that even the driver got too interested in it, Scrooge finally reaches his Manor to find that Goldie barged into his house, and she immediately asks where his half of the map went. One may wonder how she managed to get past Mrs. Beakley, all but shown to be a super spy with great combat abilities, and her trained-in-similar-arts granddaughter.

Well, she did. As the rest of this episode will prove, she's just that awesome. After Scrooge throws a chair at his own nephews after they do the same "Scrooge loves Goldie" shtick, yeah, don't anger Scrooge, Goldie realizes that it must be in Scrooge's top hat. When Scrooge wrestles her down for it, she offers the adventure. Scrooge asks why.

Goldie: Because it's gold, because it's a treasure you never found, and because you're Scrooge McDuck.

Scrooge, Goldie imitating him: You think you know me sooo well!

They decide to go on the adventure. Speaking of the map, we later see it, and it's one of those "dotted line with the X on it" maps. I'd imagine the one that has the X on it could have at least tried to extrapolate the path. I guess I could assume that half was in that skull, but wouldn't Glomgold take it? Whatever.

Goldie puts on her old outfit, and they go into the cave. The entire episode essentially follows a similar path: throughout the adventure, they both accuse each other of trying to sabotage each other. They are totally doing that. Scrooge finds an arrow trap, which he activates by throwing a pebble at it, and accuses Goldie of doing it. Scrooge then stops Goldie from getting stuck in a giant bear trap that he totally didn't set up. Notice the difference there.

They end up at a pulley-controlled elevator, built for one. Not willing to let one person go and get a jump on the lagoon, they have to share the elevator. Of course, this leads to her complaining about his sweat. It's a funny scene.

Not speaking of particularly funny scenes, Glomgold is slowly following them. I'll be honest: his scenes don't really do much for me. All he really does is get hit by all the traps, cuts the rope of the aforementioned elevator, and talks about how Scrooge is taking his girl. He seems to disappear after this scene, because it's better to focus on the scenes with Scrooge and Goldie trying to mess each other up.

One scene has Goldie lighting a trail of gunpowder behind Scrooge, taking both halves of the map with her while he's chasing. In this universe of ducks and dogs that walk upright and talk, this trail of gunpowder leads to a bear. Not a relative of Baloo, but a bear just like in real life. I wonder how that works.

Unlike in real life, Goldie gets cornered by Scrooge riding that same bear. He even reveals that he speaks bear. This show now has just as much talking to non-language-speaking-animals as that other reboot. How can he do this? Because he's Scrooge McDuck. Yeah, that’s a running gag throughout this episode, and it does have a good payoff at the end.

They eventually reach a dead end, which happens to be right next to the frozen lake where they spent 5 years of their lives. This leads to even more backstory. After 5 years of being forced into staring at each other, their frozen scowls slowly turned into smiles. Aw, they really do love each other. While it's certainly romantic to see this, it is a horrifying thought that they were conscious in there.

Of course, there's a caveat: as soon as Goldie's half of the ice melts, she immediately leaves Scrooge behind. Scrooge realized that she loved gold more than him, and Goldie...agrees. Fitting.

They do get to the waterfall made of molten gold, thanks to the help of erosion over a century. Scrooge gets Nanook, the bear, to break the wall they thought was a dead end open in something that would have looked cool in trailers. However, as soon as they bask in the glory, a twist happens. I debated whether or not I should even have these ellipsis, to be honest.

← JAW$! 🦆 Day of the Only Child →

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Big shock, she was going to betray him in the end, just like Scrooge repeatedly accused her of doing! There is one surprise on top of this: Glomgold decides to show up, after stumbling down a hill because he's Glomgold, and reveals that he teamed up with her to do this ruse! Unlike the last time he tried, this turned out to be true.

Scrooge, telling himself he should have expected this, asks Goldie why she did this after all she did for her. He talks about how he untied her from Nanook...which he happened to tie her to himself. Again, fitting. Her response?

Goldie: Because I'm Goldie O'Gilt!

See, good payoff.

Regardless of what I feel about Glomgold’s involvement in this episode, I do like the flashback scene he describes, which is in this 50's romance comic book-like style. It even ends with him smooching the air. He sure loves that Goldie, he even came up with the shipping name: Glomgoldie.

There's a pickaxe fight that mirrors the dance scene down to certain lines, and a rather shocking scene that does give Glomgold a little more purpose in the plot. I don't want to give away everything, but I definitely questioned whether they would really do what they did.

I only have one thing I will say that will add to this review: the necklace I talked about earlier does become a plot point. What necklace? Well, that was my first impression of that ending, too; it took a second viewing for me to realize it didn't just come out of nowhere.

How does it stack up?

Promising a big adventure that happens to be a huge reference to the original comics, and the return of a classic character, DuckTales 2017 took a huge risk with this episode. As someone who hasn't really read the original stories, I can't judge whether or not it's a good adaptation.

I debated what rating I should give this. It's an entertaining adventure, sure, but it's a little repetitive, and Glomgold just became a third wheel that was more tiring than funny. This one slightly misses the mark for me. In a worse reboot, this would be one of the best episodes, but after Jaw$, it's just merely above average, which is a very high neutral for this show.

Next, the return of another classic character...whether you like him or not.

← JAW$! 🦆 Day of the Only Child →

#fpb dt 2017 #ducktales 2017 #ducktales #disney #fpb reviews

[tumblunni]

Ok so.. I feel really ungrateful as fuck saying this.. but it kinda bugs me how much perrin being nonbinary just.. isn’t really shown at all.

At least, in what i’ve seen so far, yknow? I watched the first ep of someone else’s let’s play to see if i was gonna like this game, and i like this game SO MUCH that I stopped right there and am downloading it at the speed of light yo!!! My hype is maximum and I really don’t want this to be seen as a hate message or anything, it's just a mild opinion piece about something that bummed me out a little, as a nonbinary person.

Ok so.. again, this makes me sound like an ASSHOLE but I have to say it.. Perrin looks like a boy. 100% of all LPers I have seen have assumed they were a boy. I, a nonbinary person, assumed they were a boy. (And felt like absolute shit afterwards, man I still have to work on my internalized gender stereotypes!)

Now in real life I absolutely wouldn’t go around being some douchebag who tells other NB folk they aren’t dressing ‘right’, or whatever. In real life people can feel very different ways about being outside of conventional gender norms. Some people feel like “both at once” or “neither” or “something else entirely that doesn’t touch either side of our society’s current binary stereotypes”. And regardless of whether you’re agender/bigender/genderfluid or any other type of genderqueer person, your fashion sense doesn’t have to fit any strict rule to “prove” it to people. Some people try and dress in androgenous stuff, some people try to mix parts of both gendered fashion worlds, some people like to wear very neutral baggy stuff as a different way of being androgenous, some people like to wear wild and fun stuff that never had any gender stereotype in the first place/because it helps them feel confident in themself if they have a big brave kind of fashion, yknow? (that’s why I dyed my hair at least, and why I think a lot of lGBT people do) And of course, some people just prefer ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ clothes regardless of not being that gender, and if we can accept that cis women can enjoy ‘tomboy’ fashion then we should accept that trans people don’t have to fit into even more rigid fashion rules in order to ‘earn’ their gender.

BUT this isn’t real life, it’s a videogame

We have a lot more context here, with the context that this is a character designed within a fandom whose previous attempts at NB representation have kinda started setting up a trend. In that context, this is a bit worrying that it’s happened again, and maybe future fangame creators are feeling like they have to do it, or something?

Like the NB protagonist Pluto in Pokemon Uranium.

They’re still someone I deeply love, but their design looks incredibly masculine aside from a side ponytail. If anything their design communicates more that they’re a younger option compared to the other two, or something?

And the two NB protagonist options Ari and Decibel in Pokemon Reborn

Their designs look like more traditionally masculine and feminine-leaning ways of being nonbinary, ykno? And that wouldn’t be bad on it’s own, but let me try and explain what I mean...

A similar issue occurs in the unrelated dating sim Hustle Cat:

Which is generally incredibly progressive and actually the first dating sim I’ve ever seen that lets you play a nonbinary protag! But you still get only two character models to choose from.

Like it’s great that they had two options to aknowledge how not all trans people are the same, but it starts to look a bit.. odd, when those two options are ‘feminine and masculine’ and no form of androgenous is ever an option. or even like.. someone with a ‘masculine’ body build but a ‘feminine’ fashion sense. That would be kind of a stereotypical way to depict a trans character but it wouldn’t just be making a random design that could fit amoungst the already existing gendered protags and then just saying they’re trans. And a lot of people found it weird how these ones seem to be drawn as like.. both on the far masculine end, just a cis man and a trans man.

Like.. even as a nonbinary person myself, I wouldn’t have known these characters were nonbinary if you hadn’t told me. And that leaves me feeling horrible about myself that I judged them on first sight, but I mean this is within a genre of entertainment that’s literally never had any Me in it and i’ve got used to being all ‘no you’re just reading too much into it’ whenever i headcanon anyone as genderqueer...

And just.. I feel like if you’re gonna just draw another two masculine and feminine looking characters, or just a second masculine one (or a weird two masculine ones that’re labelled male and female with no option for in-between...) then couldn’t you have saved time by just letting us choose our pronouns for the two you already had? like I already play a lot of games headcanoning the protag as just a masc-fashion version of my enby self, I feel like kinda the point of adding a third design would be to make it something the others aren’t already delivering. Look at it this way, you already HAVE two nonbinary characters who look masculine and feminine, just like the player could also play them as a trans boy and trans girl. Pronoun selector box is the greatest invention of our time! So what I’m really saying is not “don’t have super masc NB protags” but just “can we have another option too?”

Oh, but then that’s also been done not-so-well by certain games too.. Awesome amazing multiplayer party game dating sim Monster Prom let’s you choose your pronouns!

...except these are your only character options! All of these are very clearly intended to be read as masc or femme, you’re probably gonna feel dysphoric as heck if you play them as trans, and none of them work super well as nonbinary either. I think pretty much every NB player has always gone for Oz (yellow one), cos he’s the one that’s most capable of fitting that headcanon just by virtue of being perpetually shadowed. Tho still his default is “he” pronouns, his fashion sense is masc and his voice is masc. Still I’m really fuckin proud of the fandom for collectively latching onto NB Oz and using “they” all the time in fanworks, and then the developers being okay with it, like holy shit man you healed my goddamn heart... <3

Still, it makes me feel a lil like this would have been easy to fix? like I’m not saying redraw everything to have them all change bodies/fashion style depending on your pronoun choice, but like.. maybe just not draw them with such super disparate body styles in the first place? like in this style every girl is hourglass and has weird legs out arms out pose, and every dude is a chunkfest with twice as big hands and feet. Like you could have maybe just made two of the characters be a very curvy girl and a very buff boy, and then the other two be more neutral in appearance but still retaining the same designs. Like I think if you just gave the blue girl a baggier shirt that doesn’t highlight her boobs and hips so much, she could easily be my favourite ‘most NB-able’ design! maybe also tone down the eyelash and lipstick effects?

I think probably a similar thing could have been done with the Reborn protagonists? like there’s nothing inherantly feminine about wearing a tanktop and having a fancy undercut hairstyle and such, its just the way they drew Ari that makes them look feminine. I guess maybe that’s a necessary evil of fangames, since they usually use edits of already existing characters from the games? Then again the games have plenty of androgenous characters already, even if nobody is canonically confirmed as LGBT. *shrug*

Anyway

I absolutely am not trying to nitpick and attack the game for not being perfect in this one aspect. i’m still super excited to even see someone like me in a videogame at all, and I’m definately not one of those people who’s like ‘I’d rather have nothing than have something flawed’. I already admire you greatly for what you’ve done for the inclusivity of this fandom, and I hope that my discussion of this stuff doesn’t discourage you from continuing.

And I guess my point is, in summary

What I mean is not “there are no nonbinary people who prefer to dress masculine instead of androgenous”, but instead that when you’re designing a nonbinary person as the only option a nonbinary player gets or the only nonbinary person in the game, with no playable option, it would probably be a little better to draw them androgenous.

Like, you’ve put that NB character into the role of representing all nonbinary people ever, to the hypothetical audience of people who’ve never heard of the concept before and aren’t super educated about the intricacies of gender presentation. And then also rather than using traditionally gendered outfits to aknowledge that NB people have many ways to present themselves... you’ve given us less ways to present ourselves.

Also it’s a little bit odd that you have an NB rival but said “we’re not ever considering an NB player option in the future”. Sorry but I cannot understand the logic? Like.. you know NB people play your game if you wanted to put NB representation in it, but you didn’t put it as playable because... reasons?? I hope maybe that interview was just taken out of context and you meant something more like “it’s not planned for now because it’s a lot of work and the game is still in its demo stage”, which is absolutely an understandable reason and how Uranium and Reborn did it. But Uranium and Reborn were kinda odd for being a world where literally nobody else aside from you could ever be NB, so I am really grateful that your game did add an NB character. And one in a big role!! This is what i mean about how grateful I am and how I feel awful that my bad internet typing skills are making this post come off as more aggressive than intended.. *sigh*

OH and also maybe a tip for Periin? just.. like.. mention their pronouns. It’s really frustrating to watch everyone doing let’s plays of this thing and constantly assuming Perrin is male because their design is very masculine. Even me! Even me was assume! :( So like... maybe just have Perrin actually tell the audience that they are nonbinary at some point, during this introduction? or have the protagonist’s inner monologue mention it, or another character mention it on the way towards meeting Perrin? like I dunno, maybe a Perrin fan npc?cos it would seem a bit more natural to talk about gender if it’s someone saying “wow I admire Perrin’s androgenous fashion sense” rather than like.. a stranger saying “i can’t tell if you’re a boy or a girl from your face”.

I can understand how it can be tricky to figure out how to introduce a LGBT character’s LGBT-ness without having them go around saying it to every new person they meet, it’s something I’ve had to fix in the editing process even as a trans person writing trans characters. But just having their gender only be mentioned on missable promotional material outside the game means that a lot of players won’t ever hear about it, and it like.. has zero impact of actual inclusivity on the game. It’s why people were angry about DUmbledore only getting revealed as gay after the series already ended. Him being gay missed all of its chances to make gay readers of the series feel welcome, or have any part of his character be informed by his sexuality. like the plot between him and grindlewold could have been way more effective if it was him losing a boyfriend to the dark arts, just sayin...

anyway whatever, bunni is bad at writing coherant posts in summary thanks for perrin and sorry for whining about perrin, aaaaa

#bunni plays phoenix rising

[inkstainedfanfics]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Kelly, ahhhh happy birthday! I’m sorry this is so close to midnight lol so it may be one of the last birthday wishes you receive, but I hope you had an amazing day filled with laughs and cheers and happiness. I wanted to give you a small something as a gift, and I figured what would work better than a little bit of writing? So happy birthday, @fantasticnewtimagines​. Thank you for always being a small corner of positivity here and for being the most awesome person. Ily and hope you had a day as fantastic as you are <3

You drag your feet into the back room of the restaurant, tiles squeaking with each step you take to the window. You’re grateful for the final streaks of red in the sky that mark the end of your unplanned shift. Granny called only an hour into your day of relaxation, begging you to come in because Red was too sick to work and it was the premiere of the new dinner special. “I know it’s your birthday, dearie, but I could really use the help.” Only a couple of minutes left before you can escape.

The sun’s set by the time you slink into the humid summer night. The air’s thick with a promise of rain, and, by the way the grey clouds in the sky are climbing on one another, you wouldn’t be surprised if the sky broke open before you managed the five-block walk to your house. Though you know he has a night out with the boys planned, you shoot Killian a quick ‘I’m off work’ text before starting forward with your head ducked. The last thing you want is to be dragged into some conversation by anyone in the town, not when you can at least salvage some of the night by warming up a slice of cake in the microwave and dropping some ice cream on top of it.

Miraculously, you make it to your front door just as the first droplets are breaking open against the concrete: your first bit of luck today. Sighing, you reach forward to grab the handle. Your feet are sore, your back hurts, and you’re ready to just fall in bed and mourn the loss of your day off, but you stumble forward when the handle jerks away from you. The whole door blows open for a moment, then it slowly swings back toward you. It bounces against its frame, making a gentle click that you can hardly hear over the grumble of thunder in the distance. The door’s open, ajar, left unlocked for anyone to get in.

Fear freezes you in place, though some small part of you is just annoyed. Of course this would happen. The whole day has been a mess; your alarm clock went off early, you were called into work on your first day off in months, you reek of chicken gravy and alcohol, and now, as you’re stuck outside in the quickly growing storm, someone’s broken into your house. All you wanted was one day to spend at home, with only Killian, watching dumb movies, eating all the junk food you could muster up from the depths of your pantry, and just relaxing. But no, every single plan had to be ruined. Every single damn one, and now you won’t even get to see your boyfriend on your own birthday. How the hell did that happen?

The anger of it all, the loss of the day, the unfairness of your life, is a tide in your chest, rising until it washes over your fear and you grit your teeth and push the door open, stepping inside. If there’s a burglar in here, he can deal with you.

Swiping a nearby umbrella from its useless place on a hook, you creep forward into the house.

The living room is empty, as are the bathroom and the mud room. The storm pounds away at the window, and the gusts of wind blow the front door open wider and wider, nearly slamming it against the wall. You only have so much time, you know, until the potential burglar finds you. Lips sealed shut, barely breathing, you creep around the house, stopping in the corner before you pull the door to the kitchen open.

A soft bang comes from the other side of the door, followed quickly by a muffled curse. You jump at the noise, but that reaction is nothing compared to the leap you take when the front door finally slams into the wall. The bang could probably be heard anywhere in the house, which means the burglar will expect someone.

A shot of fear streaks through your chest, sending your heart pounding and your hands sweating, and you wonder if you should’ve called Killian, should have asked him to come check the place with you, but it’s too late. Whoever’s here is going to find you. You’ve seen too many horror films to try backing away now.

Sucking in a deep breath, you draw up whatever anger you have left, eyes darting to the doorknob when it starts to turn, and lift your weapon.

“Get out of my house!” You scream as you squeeze your eyes shut, praying the neighbors heard, that they’ll help. You swing the umbrella, glad to hear it crack victoriously against the intruder, followed quickly by a sharp cry.

“Bloody hell! What are you doing?”

“Get out of my house!” You cry again, smacking him over and over on the arm, knowing as you do that it isn’t helping at all.

“Aye, I will if you really don’t want me here.” The voice is injured, though faintly amused, and accented in an unmistakable way.

You pause your assault, the familiarity of the voice washing over you. No, it can’t be… “Killian?” You question, lowering the umbrella and opening your eyes.

He laughs, now fully amused, and rubs his arm. “D’you treat everyone like that on your birthday, or am I the lucky one?”

You loose a long breath. “What are you doing here?”

“I was here to help celebrate what’s left of your birthday, though it seems I’ve more use as a punching bag.”

You tap the tip of the umbrella against the floor; a quick beat to distract you from the embarrassment creeping up your throat. “I, um, I’m sorry. I thought you were busy tonight.”

“I was: finishing this surprise for you.” He shoves his hand in his pocket, gesturing toward the room behind him with his hook. “I think it turned out quite well.”

You crane your head to peer over him. The room’s awash in the warm reds and oranges of candles, the smell of cranberries and roast beef and stew waft from the room, earning a soft rumble from your empty stomach, one that makes Killian chuckle as he steps to your side and wraps an arm around your waist, and bright flowers dot the room, a full bouquet of them stuck in the center of the table in an elegant design, set next to gorgeous china plates.

“Killian,” you breathe out, stress melting from your shoulders at the sight, “you did all this?”

“With some help, yes.”

“This is amazing.” The umbrella clatters to the floor as you intertwine your fingers with Killian’s.

He smiles, kissing the top of your head. “I am quite amazing, aye. But this isn’t yours yet.”

You strain to twist around and see him. “What?”

“I’ve other ideas first, plans in place. After all,” he pinches your shirt between two fingers, “you can’t wear this filthy rag into the dining room, not when I’ve dressed so fancy for you.”

And he’s right about dressing up; he’s quite the sight in his leather jacket, the top button of the shirt under it unbuttoned so a bit of chest hair can peek out. his messy hair and eyes shining with mischief only add to the look of carefree arrogance he seems to effortlessly achieve. A bit of stubble covers his chin, a thin layer that will scratch you the second you try to kiss him, a small perk to dating a pirate that doesn’t believe in shaving often. The entire outfit, everything together, has you weak in the knees. You take it all in one final time before nodding.

“Fine,” you relent, “I’ll go change.” It would be nice to get out of your work uniform and into something not drenched in sweat and food.

You step away, but Killian grabs your arm as you start toward the stairs. “Not so fast, love. There’s no need to go up there.” He pauses, thinking, before grinning and adding, “yet.”

“My clothes are up there.”

He jerks his chin toward the bathroom door. “I’ve ran a bath for you and set some clothes out. Though if you doubt the advice of someone that can look as devilishly handsome as I, then go ahead.”

You narrow your eyes at him, though you’re giddy at the thought of everything he’s readied. Killian rarely goes all out for such occasions. “What else do you have planned?”

He takes a deep breath, pretending to ponder the question as he stares into the room behind you. “Oh, I don’t know. I thought perhaps a massage would be in order, then watching whatever moving picture you’d like.”

“Movie, Killian. They’re called movies.”

He shrugs, stepping toward you, sending your heart into overdrive yet again. “Whatever you say, my love.”

You roll your eyes as he wraps his arm back around your waist, tugging you against him so the tip of your nose brushes his. “It’s not my choice, you know. The name, I mean.”

“No?” Killian’s head tilts the slightest. “You know what my choice is? Unrelated to moving pictures, that is.”

You catch your breath as his eyes travel to your lips then back to your gaze, a teasing gesture he knows drives you crazy. “I have no idea.” You manage to murmur, your own gaze tracing down his nose and to his mouth.

“You, of course.”

Then he kisses you, lips so light on your own you wonder if you imagined it. You might’ve believed you had, in fact, if it weren’t for the rough scratch of his stubble, if it weren’t for the way his hand slides up your back to tangle in the hair at the base of your neck, if it weren’t for the soft sigh he releases when he pulls away. A wave of butterflies and nerves crash through you stomach as you savor the kiss for another moment.

Your eyes flutter back open to see him staring at you, cocky smirk back on his face where it always is. “There’s plenty more of that tonight, love, but you should bathe first. I’m not inclined to spend my night kissing… what is that? Tuna?”

You step back, swatting at his chest. “Chicken gravy, thank you very much. And thank you for ruining the moment.”

“Aye, my pleasure, love. Now hurry up before the food gets cold.”

You do as he says, slipping into the bathroom only to gasp in surprise again. The room’s filled with a soft melody, one you instantly begin humming to yourself. So Killian bothered to figure out CD players for you, hm? And a sweet, lilac scent fills the air courtesy of the candle in the center of the room. A bottle of red wine and a glass are next to the bath, as is a fluffy grey robe and a change of clothes.

You sigh at the sight of the steam curling off the water. A hot bath will melt the final knots in your back, and a night with Killian, eating and watching movies and just goofing around, is in the works.

Smiling, you shut the door behind you. It may have started late, but maybe this birthday won’t be so bad.

#Happy birthday! #sorry if my note's too sentimental lol #I can get sappy sometimes #anyway you're lovely and so kind and I hope you had an amazing day #lots of love! #I though a bit of Killian might be a nice break from Newt #since Ik you read and write a lot of Newt #plus who doesn't want a night of cuddling with killian honestly #enjoy!!! #killian jones #killian jones x reader

[modmad]

TPoH: just a PSA!

Unrelated to everything else, can I just whisper a few words in those shell-pink ears of yours, Tellyheads? Because I love you and you know that, but I have had rather disappointing news lately about less-than lovely behaviour. So far as I know you’ve been wonderful as a fandom so far, and I really, really want it to stay as a chill and friendly club and not a... well, let’s just say I want it to stay that way as much as possible. 

The thing I need to say is RGB is not, will never be, has never been, the only character with television for a head to exist. I didn’t even know object heads, as a category of character design, existed! Until I fell down the rabbit hole of drawing this guy on a whim, and now look where we are. The thing is, there are a lot, and I mean a lot, of other people who have characters with television sets for heads out there; some who designed them before me, some after, but like, 99% of the time they will never ever have heard of or read TPoH or be basing it off RGB, so going out to them and accusing them of it is... not nice. Please, don’t do that. 

It’s very hurtful to have someone say to you that your original, personal, deeply-thought-out design is a copy of someone else’s, and worse still if you’re told that you’re bad and should stop drawing them. It happens to all of us at some point! Heck, when I started TPoH I was asked so often if I’d read Saga that I’ve effectively been put off from doing so (but I hope I’ll get over that because I’m sure it’s awesome, really), but nobody told me to stop drawing. Even if a character was inspired by RGB, it has inspired a person to make something, another new character! And I’m all about that; if you’ve been reading the comic, you’ll know that! Unless the character is very obviously a trace-job of him (and even then people learn by copying so like, whatever) or recolouring entire pages and I saying ‘I did this’, I’m happy for them to be doing their own thing! Yes, their are copycats out there, but there is such a thing as coincidence, and zeitgeist, and luck. 

Most of you folks likely know that Charles Darwin got his celeb on by publishing a paper called ‘On the Origin of Species’; well, some of you clever cookies might also know that another dude submitted a paper with almost exactly the same theory at exactly the same time. The only reason we know about Darwin’s theory of Evolution, and not the other guy, is because Darwin’s name appeared first alphabetically. Same goes for this trope- dude with TV head takes a protagonist to another world on a zany adventure. There can be ten thousand differences in the two stories from this point. Story structures like this overlap and coincide all the time, and the two writers making these stories can have absolutely no connection to each other. I kind of side with the idea that some stories just, exist outside of us- outside of people, and wander down from their hammock in the sky and sit on a person one day saying “hey, write me.” How that person goes about it, however, it up to the person. If someone else had started their version of this story before me, I’d be the one being slandered for pinching their idea.

So, TL:DR- I know the people that this addresses acted with good intentions, but don’t be hasty, and don’t be mean? Please. I want this story and its following to be a not mean place for people. That would be really nice.

#sorry it's long but I didn't think I should put it under a cut #'cause it's an issue #TL:DR #TPoH post #Tellyheads #I love you but please be kind #suppose the best of people before you suppose the worst

[cinco-de-chocobo]

C’est la vie...

I’ve never been a heavy user of social media. 

I never have Instagram, Path, Snapchat, Tinder, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. I have shut down my Facebook account for a while now. I only have 2 active accounts presently: Twitter and Tumblr. Twitter as my news sources and Tumblr’s for the sake of my right brain happiness.

WHY?

When i ask myself the reason why, the first thing that comes to mind is privacy. I believe that my life is mine alone, no one else need to know except for few people whom i trust with my whole heart. Secondly, every time I’m about to create an account, i always ask myself “do I really need it?” or “for what purpose?”. If the answers are not satisfactory, then i won’t sign up. 

But are those really? Are those really the reason i’m not really into social media? Are privacy issues and sense of purpose really the things that i’m actually concerned about?

When i started being really honest with myself, i slowly realized those reasons were not the only reason why i didn’t like social media. I was blinded by my pride, drowned in self-deception, haughtily thought: “being able to conserve myself from social media make me a better person.” But, there was something much deeper than that, something which i was afraid to admit.

I think some part of my inner self was scared and anxious to use social media because every one seems to be so successful in living their life. Browsing through social media was pretty-much a roller coaster ride for me, sometimes i felt superior towards other and judge whom they are for what they post. Other times i felt inferior about myself because i thought my life is not as awesome as theirs. There were times in my life where i unmuted my close friends on Twitter just because of my low self-esteem. Which was pretty irrational and ridiculously foolish behavior. 

DEALING WITH MY SUPERIORITY COMPLEX AND INFERIORITY TENDENCY

Let’s talk about superiority and inferiority for a bit.

Superiority complex is “an attitude of superiority that conceals actual feelings of inferiority and failure.” It is an illusion of grandeur about oneself. 

On the other hand inferiority complex means “a lack of self-worth, a doubt and uncertainty, and feelings of not measuring up to standards”. In other words you suffer from feeling less important or insignificance compared to others.

Apart from superiority complex and inferiority complex, there is another way of being in the world and that is INTERIORITY. Caroline McHugh, the author of “Never Not a Lovely Moon” said:

“... the word “interiority” describes a particular disposition, and there’s two reasons it might be useful to you. Number one, it’s completely uncomparative. If you have a superiority complex or an inferiority complex you need other people around. For a superiority complex you need other people to be smaller. For an inferiority complex you need to suffer from the I’m-going-to-be-found-out syndrome, so somebody needs to find you out.

Interiority is entirely unrelative, so to operate from this position of interiority, it’s like a perceptual vantage point. It’s a sensibility. It’s an orientation. And it’s the only place in your life, the only place in your life, you have no competition. Try and find a comparison to yourself, and you’ll draw a blank...”

She then proceed to include an interview answer from Jill Scott to emphasize the meaning of Interiority:

Interviewer: Are you nervous you’re going to perform after her (red: Erykah Badu, famous singer-songwriter)?

Jill Scott: “Have you ever seen me perform? I am the Lady Jill Scott. I am a poet, and a singer, and a lot of other things. We all have our own thing — that’s the magic– and everybody comes with their own sense of strength, and their own queendom. Mine could never compare to hers, and hers could never compare to mine”.

The first time i heard that, i sat in silence for 5 minutes while thinking “i finally hear the one thing that I've been desperately need to hear”. I never really realized that i have my own queendom. For many years I've been looking for reassurance, thinking that i’m okay, i’m good enough, i’m unique in my own way. But i never really believed it. I lied to myself. Lying to oneself is very easy, because once you understand the power of lying, it is really like magic because you can solve all your problems easily by lying. For example, when i was scrolling down my timeline and i saw someone who post something about their life, my inner-self would go “who is stupid enough to post crap like this on internet? Well not me though, i’m a very private person” I look down on people as self-defense mechanism for my inferiority. I lied to comfort myself; cheated to think that i was a better person. I temporarily feel good about myself; problem solved. But i never really felt content.

I’ve been trying almost my entire life to compare myself with other person and felt dejection because i always think that i’m not good enough. I never quite figured out the reasons. But the more i think about it, the more i realize my huge mistakes. Of course i was never okay, of course i never felt good enough, of course i’d think so little about myself, because for all this time I've always compared my worst to someone’s best. 

“BE YOURSELF, EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN” - OSCAR WILDE

I’ve heard this famous quote so many times, but only now i really begin to grasp its meaning. It is all started when i graduated in October. But i want to flashback a little bit.

When i was still a pure innocent freshmen i have one belief, that:

“Every decision that I make should be in service to fulfill my dreams”

YEP, that’s a quote from a famous TV series and I've believed that for so long. I do believe that my life should be my message. Even if i’m not ever going to be a Gandhi, I really do want my life for a greater purpose. I want to leave a legacy. I want my existence to have a meaning. I want to help people. But along the way, i strayed further from my idealism and my dream. At some point i forgot my belief and i also lost myself.

When i graduated in October, I was in this frantic mode to find a job after graduated and was desperately trying to send my resume to every company. That time all in my mind was, “Well let’s just go for whatever job i could land on.” I was so frustrated and stressed out because all of my friends were getting jobs that pays well, while i, was at home doing nothing but waiting for interview calls. But eventually, effort bore fruits. I got accepted to a multinational company and they offered me a position as a production planner. I should be happy, excited, and grateful. But the weird things is, instead of happiness, i suddenly felt this anxiousness and started to question the decision i was about to make; “Is this really whom i want to be and what i want to do with my life?”

I panic and had a cold sweats because i had to give answer immediately. But i’m lucky enough to know that when in doubt, there is always The One that has all answers and never fails. After unloading and bursting everything, my head became clear, my heart was unburdened, and i knew the answer. I called my parents and i told them my decision. My dad said, “Well, i believe in you. Whatever your decision is going to be, we will always support you. But whatever you do, whatever it is, you do it wholeheartedly, because only then you’ll have no regret, and only then you’ll be happy.” That is the moment i know, my parent’s happiness is not about me being successful, my parent’s happiness is about me being happy.

After that i called the company, i said, “Thank you for the opportunity but i’m sorry i have to refuse.”

***

It used to bother me a lot when someone ask me, “Where are you working right now?” I tried to find acceptable answers and beat around the bush. But now when people ask me the same question, my answer will be, “well nothing much. I’m unemployed, mostly at home, doing things that i love to do but never get the chance to back then.” I finally comfortable being truly me, without pretense and facade.

I started to remember the person i once was. I dream again. I hope again. And even if i’m still afraid of uncertainties, i’m starting to figure out what i want to do with my life. And once i know that bit, it’s amazing how liberating life can be. It’s my own journey and i want to make my own story. Everybody agrees that every good story is an original story, right? The story that i want to make, has to be so original and unlike any others. So what’s really the point of comparing myself to other people, when my job is to be as unlike them as i can possibly be, when my only job is to be as good at being me as they are at being them. 

C’EST LA VIE...

I rarely put my vulnerable side on social media because i always thought “what’s the point anyway.” But if there is somebody, anybody out there who reads this and you ever feel the same way as i did, i want to say a few words if it helps to ease your mind:

Everything you see in social media may not always be true. Behind those smiles, laughter, behind those pictures, behind those happy videos, everyone has their own “baggages” and burdens, we all do. Some people are just better pretender. Some people are just tougher. 

Everything you see in social media should not affect you in any way. Don’t judge people for what they seem, yet don’t you ever belittle yourself. Do what you want to do. Don’t ever seek for anybody’s approval for the one that truly matters is only yours. You’ll never be perception-less, as people will always have opinions about you; you can’t control that. But you can always be perception-free, as you have a choice to ignore them; and you can control that.

Don’t compare yourself. Instead of wasting your time looking at others and tirelessly comparing yourself, building your own kingdom/queendom you have always dreamt of, seems like a better story to pass on. 

And that’s life, c’est la vie...

- BSW

[syrupwit]

Letter for Femslash After Dark 2018

Hi writer! Thank you very much for creating a work for me! I hope this letter will inspire or at least mildly entertain you. If you have an idea that diverges from my prompts but doesn’t cross my DNWs, please go for it -- I’m just spitballing, as they say. (As someone presumably says, somewhere.)

I should note that I’m slightly more into this exchange for dark themes than for smut, but I 100% don’t object to non-dark smut either! All in favor of smut.  

DNW: Unrelenting grimness, entirely miserable stories with entirely miserable endings, guro/gore meant to titillate, children in sexual situations, kinks commonly considered “opt-in” (scat, bestiality, etc.), 24/7 BDSM, unrequested identity headcanons, issuefic.

Do Want: Dark themes and content, complicated relationships that may or may not merit the label “unhealthy”, twisted/one-sided/manipulative relationships that decidedly merit the label “unhealthy”, explicit sexual content, sexuality-related angst, dubcon, enthusiastic consent, Bad Ends, hurt/comfort, possessiveness, bondage, Stockholm/Lima syndrome, emphasis on age difference in pairings where it applies, humiliation, dirty talk, “this isn’t technically sex because xyz (except it’s totally sex)”, aliens and robots misunderstanding human stuff but trying really hard to get it right anyway. 

-

DISHONORED

The worldbuilding and characters in this game have me consistently like ♥_♥. I’ve spent way too much time playing it! Waaaaaay too much time. I’m only through The Brigmore Witches DLC, so... avoid extensive spoilers for Dishonored 2 or Death of the Outsider if you can help it, please. I’m spoiled on a few things, like Delilah’s good ending in DH2, but the bulk of it is mystery.

For this exchange, I’ve requested Delilah ships featuring characters introduced in the first game and its DLCs.

Delilah Copperspoon/Billie Lurk | Meagan Foster

Lots to work with here! I feel like these two could have serious chemistry of the “this is definitely going to explode” variety, in addition to the whole canonical betrayal / manipulation thing.

Prompts:

How do they meet? Fugue Feast encounter, “happenstance” that Billie later realizes was calculated, honest actual happenstance, fleeing a botched job, spying on the same mark, what?

Delilah makes Billie pay for that “bit of a bitch” comment in the Timsh estate.

AU: After Billie defeats Daud at the end of The Knife of Dunwall, she expects to assume control of the Whalers. Delilah has other ideas.

AU: Delilah’s plans succeed in The Brigmore Witches and she goes to track Billie down. (If she’s in Emily’s body at this point, I’d prefer no sexual content unless Emily is an adult.) Dark themes? Draw the curtains and turn out the lights, we’re heading to shadowtown.

Delilah Copperspoon/Lizzy Stride

Though she only appears in one of the DLCs, Lizzy ranks among my favorite Dishonored characters. I adore her pointy teeth, her awful bare feet, and her zest for the life of crime. Delilah could chew her up and spit her out, but do I want her to? Maybe.

Prompts:

Something goes haywire in the Brigmore Manor mission, and Delilah ends up taking Lizzy captive (crew optional).

Fugue Feast! Cutting loose and having fun with a distinguished (Delilah) or rowdy (Lizzy) stranger. Maybe they wear attend the same wild party. Maybe they run around in the street sharing bottles of whiskey. Maybe they’re teenagers and Lizzy wants to impress / mess around with / brag about having gotten it on with the arrogant lady in the pretty mask. Maybe Lizzy bosses Delilah around, or vice versa, or both. Just show me these women enjoying themselves at an event where they feel entitled to do so.

AU: Empress Delilah takes a keen interest in the affairs of a certain minor crime boss. (Is Lizzy her lover? Does she want something from her? Is this a fantasy in Delilah’s dream?)

AU: Delilah, not Daud, is the one who breaks Lizzy out of Coldridge.

Delilah Copperspoon/Vera Moray | Granny Rags

As may become apparent, I’m fascinated by evil old lady witches. Granny Rags is an excellent example of such and I am quite fond of her.

As far as I know, these two haven’t encountered each other in canon, but I’d imagine they’d have a power struggle or an uneasy alliance if they did... or, who knows?

Prompts:

Delilah and Granny Rags meet at an Outsider shrine.

Delilah's attempts to form an alliance with Slackjaw are repeatedly thwarted by an inconvenient muttering old woman.

A young Delilah confronts the scariest witch in the slums.

One of the things that drove Vera Moray mad on the Pandyssian Continent was an apparition of void-bound Delilah, unstuck in time.

Delilah and Granny Rags meet at an Outsider shrine, where Delilah is attempting to complete a somewhat risqué ritual.

One of the things that drove Vera Moray mad on the Pandyssian Continent was an apparition of Empress Delilah, stuck in her painting.

Delilah kidnaps an inconvenient muttering old woman and gets more than she bargained for.

-

PORTAL

I just played these games for the first time and I! Love! GLaDOS! Hello voice kink, hello hilarious ridiculous complex evil-yet-sympathetic female villain, hello AI with a definite gender, hello... WORLD. Or something.

Chell/GLaDOS

This may seem unusual for a ship where both characters canonically attempt to murder each other on multiple occasions, but I would prefer lighter/happier endings for this canon and pairing. Like, please seize and run with any dark thoughts that might accost you, but if I had to pick I’d pick Rated Explicit For Sexual Situations rather than Rated Explicit For Doom and Misery.

Note: I am SUPER INTO hurt/comfort for this pairing. And GLaDOS reluctantly relenting because Chell just continues to exceed her expectations...

Prompts:

Post-Portal 2, Chell runs into some problems in the outside world and reluctantly turns to GLaDOS for aid. GLaDOS agrees to help her, but there’s a price.

During Portal 2, after Chell and Wheatley have awakened GLaDOS, Chell finds that GLaDOS’s new tests have taken on an unusual new theme... a sexy (?!) theme. What’s going on?

At some point in any game, Chell fails a test. Instead of letting her die, GLaDOS rescues her and keeps her as a pet.

GLaDOS attempts to seduce Chell. Chaos ensues.

AU: Chell is an Aperture test subject while Caroline is alive.

AU: Chell is an Aperture test subject. Cave Johnson is dead and Caroline has assumed his position. But is the woman who oversees testing really Caroline? (Androids! Cyborgs?)

Chell is trapped somewhere for a bit, GLaDOS can’t physically reach her, but can talk to her for xyz reason. The taunting that ensues gets weirdly sexual.

Sex pollen goo.

-

ORIGINAL WORK

Divided by theme! tbh I’m loving these Extremely Specific Pairings That Function As Prompts In Their Own Right.

ROBOTS / AI

Robot Haphazardly Built Of Spare Parts/Glamorous Fashionista

Prompts:

The Fashionista, a renowned ditz whose heart of figurative gold remains concealed from the public eye, adopts a Robot because that is the thing to do. Dark societal truths come to light... or maybe they just hook up and it’s awesome.

They meet backstage at the runway. The Fashionista is promoting someone’s new line. The Robot is working as dress assistant, janitor, and/or decoration, for a pittance. What are these feelings???

The Fashionista’s Robot lover is her greatest shame.

The Robot’s Fashionista lover is her greatest shame.

The Fashionista has never had an orgasm. The Robot’s unusually shaped and/or vibrating appendage promises to change that.

The Robot has never experienced physical pleasure, at least not to a noticeable degree. But... the way the Fashionista attends to her...

A power couple enjoy a day out. Is it sinister? Is it sensual? Is this a boring prompt? Only you can say.

Nanite-based Shapeshifting Female Alien Robot/Space Explorer

Prompts: 

[on their way]

Ice-Cold Mob Boss/Robot Bodyguard She Would Die For

Prompts: 

The Mob Boss has always assumed her feelings for the Robot Bodyguard were, and would remain, unrequited. When she is injured, kidnapped, or otherwise placed in severe danger, this assumption is proven wrong.

Rival gangsters or law enforcement agents kidnap the Robot Bodyguard for information. They don’t expect the Mob Boss to care. They especially don’t expect her to personally storm their hideout / prison / whatever.

Rival gangsters or law enforcement agents, informed by a snitch of the Mob Boss’s secret feelings, kidnap the Robot Bodyguard. She knows it’s a setup exploiting her weakness. She personally storms the hideout / prison / whatever anyway.

Snapshots of the relationship between Mob Boss and Robot Bodyguard, beginning to end.

Female Sentient AI/Female Prisoner Recruited for Human Subject Trial

Prompts: 

Question Prompts -- How ethical is the human subject trial and what is its purpose? What is the AI’s interest in the Prisoner, or vice versa? What was the Prisoner’s alleged crime, is she guilty or innocent, and was she justly or unjustly imprisoned? Is the AI supposed to be sentient, or is her consciousness a happy (depending on how you look at it) accident?

The AI gains or solidifies a consciousness while being tasked to perform increasingly sadistic experiments on the Prisoner. Does she continue the experiments or hatch a plot to rescue her subject?

These new sexually-themed tests would cause the Prisoner enough shame if they didn’t also turn her on. Is it just her imagination, or does the proctor AI seem to respond to her arousal?

Programmer/Rogue AI She Created

Prompts: 

Question Prompts -- How has the AI managed to go rogue? Is this the cyberpunk future? What is the Programmer’s area of industry? Exactly what kind of stuff can the AI do?

Now a hostage of her own creation, the Programmer struggles to explain the decisions that led her to these circumstances. 

WITCHES

Evil Spellcasting Witch/Evil Hedge Witch She Is Having the Spawn of their Evil Love With

Prompts:

Enthusiastic pregnant sex that may or may not be part of an evil ritual. (What exactly is the spawn...?) 

Enthusiastic we’re-conceiving-the-spawn-of-our-evil-love sex that may or may not be part of an evil ritual. (Again, what exactly is the spawn?)

A torch-bearing mob descends on the cottage of the pregnant Evil Hedge Witch. Hark -- Evil Spellcasting Witch to the rescue!

Powerful Hermit Witch/Princess Who Comes Seeking Her Aid and Won't Take No For an Answer

0 Witch/Female Witch Hunter(s)

0POP STARS

Female Pop Star/Fake Girlfriend Hired by PR Team

Prompts: 

[under construction]

Female Pop Star/Controlling Manager

Prompts:

[coming soon]

#optional detailed letters for exchanges tag

[carterthornton]

The Third Wave | Chapter Thirty: The Marksman

        "So, err... who's this?" Carlo asked as he munched on a forkful of omelette, pointing his utensil at Isabelle, who quietly nibbled on a piece of toast.

      "You're awful quiet," Aiko smiled, waving at Isabelle, who seemed to duck her head under the lunch table. "Who is she, Jace?"

      "Yeah, I suppose you guys would be curious..." Jace chuckled scratching the back of his head as he stared down at a plate of waffles. "This is Isabelle, she's-... she's a new friend I met earlier— really wants to be part of the IMOP."

       "That's not what you told me," Mura piped up, pointing out the holes in Jace's story. "You told me she was a long-time family friend yesterday at the supermarket."

       "Mura, cut it out," Jace muttered to the blue-haired blurter.

       "This girl has amnesia, and Jace doesn't want to tell anyone because he believes they'd think he is taking advantage of her," Mura said nonchalantly, with not an ounce of restraint regarding details. "She's also a Mark-user."

       Carlo choked on a piece of egg momentarily; Mura's words were almost like a slap to the face. "I'm sorry, what?"

       "Jace, is she serious?" Aiko gasped.

       "Yeah, she is..." Jace sighed, messaging his brow.

       "Jace, why haven't you gone to the police? Someone could be looking for her!" Maeve scolded him, frightening Isabelle.

       "I was, but she's been remembering stuff recently— figured she would eventually figure out where she came from," Jace explained, only realizing then how stupid his plan sounded once he said it aloud. "Okay, okay! I know it sounds bad, but I had good intentions in mind!"

       "I like your hair!" Yuko gave Isabelle her friendliest grin, gesturing to her own long, metallic locks.

       "Thanks..." Isabelle cracked a smile as she bashfully tugged on her bangs; it was clear to Yuko that she was overwhelmed by so many new faces.

       "So why is she with you, Jace? Shouldn't she be at home?" Aiko inquired, hoping her cooler approach at the situation would calm their table down.

        "My mom told me it was really the only option. She couldn't watch her at work since she'd be in the operating room most of the day, and there's no way I'd let her go to school with my sister," Jace shook his head, flipping over a waffle with his fork. "So, I um... I sort of talked with Headmaster Colter and signed her up for a one week trial?"

        "Jace, are you kidding me?!" Maeve shouted, nearly bashing him over the head with her food tray. "That's the most idiotic thing I've heard! Does she even want to go here?!"

       "Um..." Isabelle raised her hand, hoping to interject, but Maeve yelled over her.

       "Maeve, we should let her speak," Aiko interrupted Maeve, motioning to her to sit back down.

       "Th-thank you," Isabelle gave Aiko an uneasy smile as she scooted closer to Jace. "This was my choice— staying with him. He's the only friend I have, and I think it's best I wait until my memories have returned. So, I'll try to do my very best while I'm here! I promise I won't let any of you down!"

       "And you're sure this is what you want for the time being?" Maeve couldn't let go of her skepticism. "Do you have any experience with your Mark?"

       "I'm sorry, what's a Mark?" Isabelle asked, clearly confused by what Maeve was referring to.

       "It's on the nape of her neck. She probably didn't notice it because of its location," Mura chimed in, directing everyone's attention to the symbol on the back of Isabelle's neck as she grabbed a handful of her hair. "Do you know what this is?"

       "Oh, my birthmark? I've always had that," Isabelle snatched her hair back from Mura's grasp, letting it fall back into place. "Is there something wrong with it?"

       "That's no birthmark, Isabelle, it's a Mark," Carlo rolled up his sleeve, revealing the Mark on his left forearm. The symbol of his Mark appeared to take the shape of roots or vines embedded in the ground, sapping particles from the earth. "This is mine, see? We all have Marks."

       "I see... interesting," Isabelle nodded slowly, noticing the similarities between her birthmark and Carlo's Mark. "What does mine do?"

       "I guess since you're technically a student, for the time being, you could consult Dr. Baxter and get your Mark tested," Jace suggested. "But I think you can figure it out in time."

       "That'd be a good time to get your Mark registered too," Aiko added. "Oh! Speaking of which, I have to correct an error in registration! I falsely identified my Mark as an Alteratio."

       "Yeah, I think we could do that," Jace agreed, double-checking with Isabelle. "Sound good?"

       "Um, okay," Isabelle replied, a little unsure of what she was getting herself into.

       "Hey, if I may make an unrelated observation..." Carlo's eyes wandered over to Maeve and Aiko, who was sitting next to each other quite comfortably. "You two seem awful friendly with each other this morning. You guys go to couple's therapy or something? I mean, you two were like cats and dogs a couple days ago." Carlo received no verbal response from Maeve— just a malicious glare. "What?! I'm just asking! Geez!"

       "We're working it out," Aiko answered, finishing off her espresso.

       "Thankfully," Maeve hid the red in her cheeks, acting as distant as possible.

****

       "Alright, no more man-to-man fighting for now! We've got some lovely toys for you all right here!" Ms. Steele stood before her class with an eager jitteriness, welcoming her aids as they entered the training grounds, wheeling in huge black containers. "Crack em' open, boys."

       The aids did as instructed, unlocking each container with its key. The containers didn't pop open as a conventional crate or chest would; they unfolded into a neat display, revealing a rack of various firearms. There were handguns, rifles, and even a few shotguns, all shiny and new. Every student was floored, teeming with excitement and intrigue as the weapons were laid out on tables near the recently erected shooting range.

       "Yes! Oh, I knew suffering through Macusology was worth it!" Carlo shouted at the sky as he raised his fists into the air. "Woooo!"

       "As a member of the IMOP, a firearm is optional, but still feasible nonetheless. Generally, most members of the force prefer to focus more on using their Mark for subduin' an opponent, as it's better for non-lethal engagement. But, in the event of a life-or-death situation, a firearm can be a useful tool." Ms. Steele lifted her shirt up just a tad, showing off her holstered sidearm. "This is Bloom— my baby." With a gritty mug, Ms. Steele slid her revolver out of its holster, turning to face a target dummy down the shooting range. "I recommend you plug yer ears."

       "What the hell would you kill with that, a whale?" Jace almost burst into laughter as he gawked at Ms. Steele's piece.

       In Ms. Steele's hand was a revolver so ludicrously huge, Aiko had to do a double-take just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. The design of her gun was enough to turn heads on its own— a mixture of 1800's cowboy and modern technology. It had a long, chunky barrel with a laser attachment on the bottom, and it sported a high-powered, holographic sight. The whole gun was obsidian black and adorned with polished, pearl accents— rose vines and leaves —that glimmered under the morning sun. Its cherry wood grip bucked hard as Ms. Steele pulled the trigger, unleashing a deafening bang as the revolver spat its blast of hot, merciless lead at its target. She landed a bull's-eye right between the eyes of the practice dummy. Breathing deeply and planning her remaining four shots, Ms. Steele slid her thumb up to prime the hammer, revealing the burned symbol of a rosebud on the other side of the grip. And suddenly, quicker than the eye could track, she unloaded the revolver into her target, hitting every major weak point: the sternum, the heart, the liver, and the neck. All shots unleashed a devastating amount of energy into the dummy, nearly tearing it out of its fixed position.

       "This here pistol fires a .700 Nitro Express round designed specifically for taking down heavily-armoured Beast Mark-users," Ms. Steele kissed the smoking barrel of Bloom, twirling it once around her metal finger before holstering it. "I don't usually use it unless lethal force is necessary, so I apologize if I'm savouring the moment a little too much— can't help it."

       "Holy shit, that was awesome," Carlo whistled, marvelling at Ms. Steele's elegant beast of a sidearm as he adjusted his pants, which grew uncomfortable around his crotch area the longer he stared at Bloom. "Oh, no..." His face turned bright red as he crossed his leg, leaning on Jace.

       "Carlo, what are you-..." Jace's lips retracted into his mouth as he held back intense laughter, catching a glimpse of Carlo's groin region. "Oh my god."

       "Shush, shush, shush! Shut up!" Carlo silenced Jace, pinching his lips together with a thumb and an index finger. "Shut your fucking mouth!"

       "Okay... okay..." Jace was on the verge of crying. "Wow."

       "Do you have an erection?" Mura squinted at Carlo's awkward leg position, piecing together his predicament. "Pervert."

       "Shut the fuck up Mura!" Carlo shushed her before she could spread the news, readjusting his pants as he calmed himself down.

       "Whatever," Mura shrugged, turning her attention back to Ms. Steele.

       "What's an erection?" Isabelle asked Jace, peeking over his shoulder.

       "Um... " Jace couldn't help but snort a few times before he could answer with a straight face. "Apparently it's what happens to Carlo whenever he looks at an extra-curvy piece of metal."

       "Shush!" Carlo quietly snarled, trying not to draw attention to his group. "We're never speaking of this, got it?"

       "Speaking of what?" Aiko interjected.

       "Carlo got an erection from Ms. Steele's revolver," Mura ignored Carlo's pleas, spilling the beans immediately.

       "Holy shit," Aiko covered her mouth, trying to conceal her laughter. "No..."

       "Ugh, that's disgusting!" Maeve scrunched her nose and scowled, avoiding eye contact with Carlo.

       "Did you not just hear me?!" Carlo hollered at Mura, who also seemed to start cracking up.

       "I did," Mura nodded, sticking her tongue out at him. "That's payback for groping me." And with that, Carlo went completely pale. "Pervert."

       "It's okay, Carlo, I still like you!" Yuko reassured him as best she could, patting him on the back.

       "Thanks, I guess..." Carlo sighed, shrinking into nothingness.

       "Alright, rookies, now it's yer turn!" Ms. Steele instructed her students, grabbing a much smaller, less exquisite sidearm from one of the weapon containers. "This here's a standard-issue sidearm for IMOP Officers, the ten millimeter. It's light, easy to manufacture, and is good in most situations where a firearm is applicable." Ms. Steele snapped her fingers, and her classroom aids began handing out guns to each student. "Don't worry, they aren't loaded. But just in case, I suggest ya point your guns away from anyone. Hold it with two hands, and aim it down towards the ground, got it? I don't want anyone losin' a finger or a toe today."

       "It's heavier than I expected," Aiko stated, inspecting the chamber of her pistol whilst still keeping the barrel directed towards the ground.

       "Everyone says that," Carlo scoffed, holding a pistol firmly in his left hand. "Why does everyone always say that?"

       "In a couple weeks from now, your teams will each make several decisions. These decisions will decide your field of expertise on the force, your classes. In a team of five to seven, each member will have a specific role to play," Ms. Steele swept her hair to the side as she continued. "This training exercise will help yer team identify the cowboy on the team. The Marksman Class is the label given to a team member with exceptional sharpshooting skill, and it's the team member who will use firearms more often than the rest."

       "Carlo, you alright?" Jace saw an odd look in Carlo's eyes as he glazed over his pistol.

       "Heh, heh, heh..." Carlo's typical goofy, klutzy behaviour seemed to melt away as he analyzed his sidearm, checking for a label somewhere on the barrel. "Manufacturer... Cogsbaine Firearms! Alright, so it must have a burst function somewhere-... ah ha!" He clicked a button near the receiver, activating a secondary firing mode. "Let's see what you can do, huh?"

       "Alright, we'll begin with..." Ms. Steele picked a random number from one to thirteen. "Twelve! Let's have Team 12 test their mettle! I'll give you further instructions once you all take position down the range." She came over to Aiko and Yuko first as they took their places, standing at the left edge of the shooting range. "I'll need you both to-."

       "Ms. Steele, is there a gun for Yuko?" Aiko called over her instructor; the firearms provided were much too small for Yuko's massive hands."Her hands are pretty huge."

       "Hmm... I'm not so sure, recruit," Ms. Steele shook her head at Yuko's lack of a proper sidearm. "I'll have to look into it." She placed a hand on Yuko's shoulder before walking over to the next team member. "Sorry, girly."

       "It's okay!" Yuko grinned, showing no signs of disappointment. "I don't think guns are for me anyways!"

       "Yeah, well, you are bulletproof," Jace added, helping out Isabelle with her pistol. "Iz, you think you're up for this?"

       "Um... yeah, I think so," She nodded uneasily s she held her pistol tightly, imagining herself with a blown-off finger. "I hope so."

       "You really don't have to do this you know— be on the team and all that jazz. You only agreed because you wanted to be where I could see you," Jace sighed as Ms. Steele came by. "Stay cool, alright? She'll help you out."

       "Okay..." Isabelle squeaked.

       "Carbon finish... nice," Carlo complimented his pistol as he fiddled with its mechanisms, aiming down the sights. "Very nice iron sights."

       "Are you getting another boner?" Mura asked, watching Carlo mumble to himself as he toiled away with the handgun; he didn't seem to pay attention to her. "Carlo?"

       "Huh?" Carlo blinked rapidly as Mura snapped him out of his own little world. "Oh, sorry! I was just checking this thing out, you know? You like guns at all?"

       "No," Mura flatly replied. "Not at all."

       "Really? Not even a little bit?" Carlo snorted, grabbing a loaded magazine from one of the aids as they came around. "They're pretty fun."

       "I don't think so," Mura grumbled, scowling at her handgun. "I've never been a good shot."

       "You can always learn, right? That's what we're here to do," Carlo offered Mura his optimism, but she wasn't having any of it. "Okay, okay! Do whatever!"

       "Recruit Isabelle, Recruit Jace? You two ready to go?" Ms. Steele asked as she passed by Aiko.

       "Um, not just yet," Jace replied, still occupied with Isabelle's handgun. "She's pretty new to firearms."

       "I'll just take a burn around and come back, okay?" Ms. Steele instructed the two recruits as she walked over to Carlo. "Don't touch your guns until I get back to you."

       "Right," Jace and Isabelle both nodded.

       "Recruit Catelli, are you-?" Ms. Steele was cut off by Carlo as he pulled out a card from his pocket, flashing it in her face. "Hmm... a handgun safety certificate? That's only good for usage in American provinces, right?"

       "I know— just thought it might help my case," Carlo assured her, loading his pistol. "Care to watch and offer criticism?"

       "Well, you better make it snappy, recruit," Ms. Steele said as she stood behind Carlo, keeping an eye out for any slip-ups in his posture or etiquette. "Go on."

       Carlo took a deep breath as he raised his pistol, making sure that his heartbeat remained at a steady pace. Then, he aimed down sights, squinting at the practice dummy as it stared back at him. Keeping burst-fire on, he unloaded three into the dummy's head, all landing right between the eyes, then he fired the rest into the same weak points that Ms. Steele had targeted. And within only a few short seconds, Carlo completely spent his clip, never missing once.

       "How's that?" Carlo wiped his brow as he unloaded the magazine, turning to face his teacher.

       "I'd say turn burst-fire off, but judging by how that dummy's feeling, I'd say you know what you're doing," Ms. Steele scratched her chin, thinking back to how Carlo managed his breathing. "But a shred of advice I could provide is to breathe a little more between shots. Don't hold your breath until you've unloaded completely; in a firefight, you might pass out. Still, good job."

       "Got it," Carlo gave her a two-fingered salute, oblivious to the wide-eyed students around him. "Thanks."

       "Carlo, I-..." Jace was at a loss for words. "Geez, dude."

       "What?" Carlo spun around, noticing the shocked expressions of his fellow classmates. "What's up?"

       "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're the Marksman," Ms. Steele whispered to him before moving on to Mura, giving him a pat on the back.

       "So you aren't completely useless then..." Maeve smirked, watching as Carlo's dummy slumped over.

       "Hey, I heard that!" Carlo snapped at her, flailing his arms in a wild outrage.

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