#I just would like to see canon Eclipse with more red in his design

[crees-a]

....but how about fixed Eclipse wearing red pants with yellow stars.....

[quitealotofsodapop]

the previous post got me thinking of my og Yuebei design for the slow-boiled au,and got thinking; what would she look like without LBD's influence?

immediately I got blasted with the mental image and had to draw her.

you've heard of Slow Boiled Yuebei, now get ready for Soft Boiled!

basically Yuebei was born sooner for whatever reason and therefore didn't consume LBD's dao. I like to think she was actually originally gonna be a lot like pre-during jttw Wukong; loud, bright, abrasive. But by consuming an entire demon's dao it influenced her overall being, making her more chilled out. so she's basically the opposite of her Slow Boiled counterpart.

there are some similarities. she still has her glow-y ears and black fur from Wukong's yearning for Macaque, and her mask is still a skull-shape, just not bleached white by LBD instead red so it looks like the mask the eclipse twins have. however, she relies more heavily on the fire-y imagery of the sun rather then the soft clouds and bones of Slow Boiled Yuebei.

now, lore.

she might also be able to be considered an "opposite au" as I like to think the catalyst for the changes between Soft and Slow Boiled is the Samadhi Fire ritual. everything up to that point is the same as in Slow Boiled, but during the ritual Yuebei, still just 'the egg' reacts badly to the fire, but this time, instead of just causing a potential miscarriage scare, it sends Wukong into premature labor.

this is not good. obviously. premature baby is not great, likely to have health issues and complications. the labor takes many, painful, stress filled hours, close to a full day! unlike her Slow Boiled counterpart, Soft Boiled takes hours after hatching to start crying. Wukong is understandably a mess during this time. for a lomg portion of it he's grappling with the possible consequences of the ritual, and if he made the right choice to participate. luckily he has the pilgrims to comfort him until Guanyin comes back with news.

this also has the side affect to tipping off previously unaware parties of his pregnancy. PIF is having words with her brother-in-law later. Ne Zha is a little horrified, DBK is just trying to figure out if everyone is still alive while trying to keep a baby Red Son entertained. he too will be having words with Wukong later tho.

I don't think Yuebei will have ended up being a ring in this au, as she rejected the fire after originally trying to consume its dao, having learned the hard way it was too much for her. might have freaked out a little to much tho. but its possible have taken at least a little nibble of the fire to taste test may have contributed to her fire-y personality in the end.

as for her childhood. I think she'd be like, pre-teen to 14 as of canon lmk.

I feel like her being premature + samadhi fire shenanigans means she was a little sickly as a baby. maybe even with some permanent, though not overly serious, damage. perhaps she fried some of her nerves trying to absorb the fire, resulting in a lack of feeling around her chest area? maybe her taste buds too, she likes DBK + Red Son's cooking because it's hot enough she can actually taste it.

for as long as they were around, she grew up around the pilgrims, with them acting as a support group for Wukong. then, one by one, they stop coming. she doesn't understand why, having been so young. and with as young as she still is when canon rolls around, she also doesn't really understand why they don't remember her, and why they stopped coming around so they could run a noodle shop, and why they seem to have moved on without a second thought of her to raising another kid. she just knows Baba looks sad when he sees them around.

she probably is very jalous of/very avoidant while glaring daggers at MK when he first becomes Wukong's student. he took her uncles from her, was he trying to her baba now too? probably comes to a head in an episode of its own. perhaps he takes her to the shadow play to try and connect with her, Yuebei having shown an interest in theater, but she's quiet and grumpy the whole time. the two unexpectedly do end up bonding over beating on Macaque when they realize he's present, MK having been let in on some stuff by his mentor early and Yuebei also knowing some things herself.

you see, she knows about Macaque, Wukong having tried to raise her with the knowledge of his mate/her other parent. but he also tried to be honest with her, so the second it comes time to learn the full truth of how she was born she can't help but resent him a little bit. even more so when Wukong explains how, when, and why he died. she knows of his hearing abilities, her baba loved how her ears looked like 'his special ones', he should have known about her. she wonders is she wasn't enough for Macaque, if she wasn't worth trying to salvage the relationship for, or, worse yet, if he hadn't wanted her altogether. Wukong tries to tell her that couldn't be farther from the truth, but she can only believe him so much. she also isn't pleased with him for abandoning her baba in the first place.

the first time she meets Macaque (the shadow play) and clues into who he is, she decks him in the face and tries to fight him. having not even registered her presence previously, Macaque's just confused about where this sassy child came from- and why are her ears like that? why does she look so familiar?

no answers arise before MK, a slightly bigger threat then the runt that somehow got the jump on him, joins the fray, just as pissed at the monkey.

season 3 is... complicated, to say the least. Macaque reacts about as well as you'd expect him to when LBD reveals the girl who punched him mere hours before is his ex-mates kid. who is now a wanted enemy to boot, LBD wanting her as leverage against the king.

this got super long, how do i keep doing this? anyway hope you enjoyed my tangent on this new little au of mine

Link to; Yuebei's Slow Boiled au design.

One; I ADORE EVERYTHING about Soft Boiled au Yuebei's design! The fiery sun imagery, the red and black clothing that makes her look ready to Fight, her orange eyes, the little red ribbon in her hair!!! And she has her own version of Macaque's scarf!!

Two; Wukong about to get a talking to the second his adoptive family gets a hold of him. Once the monkey recovers from the early labour, and has emotionally recovered from the rollercoaster that was Yuebei's birth ofc. It would be so cute if Yuebei first started crying over something completely normal - for some reason, I'm thinking it's something like Zhu Bajie trying to pull a funny face for her. Wukong is so relieved to hear his baby crying that he doesn't even scold his pilgrim brother for scaring her!

Three; Wukong would be so protective of his little Moon Comet Star. She was so sickly and weak as a baby, that he worries about ever letting her leave places he knows to be safe. But of course she is growing up...

Four; I feel like Yuebei's growth was severely stunted by the Fire, hence why she's seems much younger than Red Son despite being only a few years apart in age. That and I can imagine Wukong took her to stay with Guanyin on her unaging island for a while to help her health improve. She's ultimately a big kid.

Five; And oooough! Yuebei not understanding that her pilgrim uncles have passed on and reincarnated, but believes that they've "abandoned" her and her baba!! Thinking MK has "stolen" her family from her and is attempting the same with her dad. MK wanting to be Yuebei's friend since she seems so lonely, but not knowing why she's cold towards him! (｡•́︿•̀｡)

I bet even with Guanyin, "Cousin" Nezha, and the very rare corespondance with PIF and Red Son, Yuebei spends a lot of her childhood lonely.

Yuebei is gonna have a time when she starts understanding whats really going on with the Noodle Gang, and why her family "suddenly" can't remember her. Wukong blames himself for not explaining it better to her earlier, but hadn't wanted to dump so much loss on his babygirl all at once - it was a lose-lose situation.

I LOVE Macaque's first impression of Yuebei being "Who's sassy child is this??" He don't hate her, he's just a little confused why some little kid has beef with him specifically. Also confusion on why she looks like him and Wukong mixed together.

MK 🤝 Yuebei: beating up Macaque for being a doofus.

I imagine Macaque awkwardly trying to connect with Yuebei after S3, and reconnect with Wukong, especially since he hadn't even known she existed at the time of his and Wukong's big fight (or chose to believe so - Memory Scroll issue for later). Yuebei doesn't like Macaque, but she doesn't completely abhor the idea of him and her baba becoming close again. She just doesn't want either of them to get hurt again.

LBD likely gets destroyed closer to canon, since Yuebei doesn't eat her soul (I hope XD) like in the Slow Boiled au. Yuebei takes her skull tho. Trophy.

Azure Lion about to get decked in the face the second he comes around. When did the monkeys multiply? Why is he on fire?

Wukong is just watching Yuebei tear into their enemies like; "I love my strong little girl." <3

[neddea]

Some days ago I made this post with some concept art, so here’s a little bit more info about my No Man’s Land! (Disclaimer about the details below the cut: I’m just an artist and in no way, shape or form a scientist, even less so an astrophysicist, so the chances of some of this info being wrong or dubious are very high lol)

Just as a little bit of context, Kepler-47 is an actual “solar system” with two host stars. We’ve been able to find three planets so far, and the outermost (47c) lies in the habitable zone. All three of them are gas giants (or rather “puffy giants” since they’re surprisingly not very dense and temperate).

I’m not gonna give too many details about the real 47c, I’ll leave that for the long post I’m working on (if I ever get to actually publish it, let’s be honest), but the only thing to keep in mind is that Nomans would be a moon orbiting this planet. Also, I decided that people would shorten “No Man’s Land” to “Nomans” overtime, which is the name I’m gonna be using. The question is: how do we call the people living there? Nomanians?

So here are the main points of my design!

-I’ve given 47c several other moons because I wanted it to match the canon as much as I could, and I think it might even help the stability of the orbits if they’re in a specific resonance? Idk, maybe an actual astrophysicist could give me some advice on this (please do)

-The interesting bit about trying to make it match the canon is that I had to make Nomans tidally locked to 47c just to have an excuse for why we never see the big planet on the sky. The idea would be that most of the Seeds ships crashed into the outer face of the moon, and since the other side, the one that’s always looking at 47c, has more extreme conditions precisely because of the influence of the host planet on it, not many people have ventured too much into these lands. At least until now…

-Speaking of the other moons, which one would be the best candidate for the Fifth Moon incident? (Spoiler alert for Maximum and ‘98: Knives forces Vash to use his Angel Arm and he ends up firing at the fifth moon, which leaves its surface marked with a big crater) We have two options: It could be one of the outer moons (the ones whose orbit is beyond that of Nomans) since those are the ones more likely to be present in the visible sky; or it could be Moon II, whose regolith would be launched into space from the blast and form the rings…

-The surface gravity is almost identical to ours here on Earth, although slightly lighter (9.66 m/s^2 compared to 9.8 m/s^2).

-Nomans is somewhat bigger than Mars but smaller than Earth.

-One day lasts for almost 27 hours, and one year would take almost 270 Nomanian days (I swear this was a coincidence). Also, a fun fact on which I’m basing the calendar system (still working on that): it takes 6.6 days for the two stars to orbit around each other. People probably noticed this and were like “Sure, that’s the seven days of the week if you ask me”, probably so that they didn’t have to figure out everything from scratch (I’d do the same). It would be fun to see different cities and places to develop their own weird and wonderful systems (not me spending several hours yesterday to understand all the Maya calendars and wondering what they would come up with in this alien planet moon…).

-And speaking about time, here’s a visual explanation on how the times of day work on the side facing 47c! I realized the other day that at noon the light would probably be tinted slightly red (or some other color, depending on the elements found on 47c’s atmosphere), just like it happens on our Moon when there’s a lunar eclipse. Please make as if you didn’t know this and let’s move on. Also, as a Spaniard I have the right to declare noon time in this part of the world the Sacred Siesta Period.

(Also, shout out to @norageonlypancakes because my main inspiration for these BGs is Chesley Bonestell, he was The Space Artist™️ of the 20th century and inspired so many people to become space nerds or even scientists!) (Also x2, thank you everyone for the lovely comments and tags on the previous post <3)

[starheirxero]

So it was Ruin all along! To be honest, I am rather surprised, as it just seemed a little too obvious. However, like many others, I think it's a Jekyll and Hyde situation, and there's a specific reason!

This might be incoherent at best, but I will try my best to explain my thought process!

So, my reason for thinking of it as a Jekyll and Hyde situation is, rather simply, because he is an Eclipse. It is his canonical name, after all! However, unlike the Eclipse we know, and unlike Solar, he is not a part of Moon's code inside Sun's body, and rather is both Sun and Moon at the same time.

An interesting thing to note is, that it's never told to us what kind of eclipse he is. Is he a solar, or a lunar eclipse?

I think it's both.

I think there are two Ruins in one body. One is a Solar eclipse, and one is a Lunar eclipse. Both of them having different personality traits from Sun and Moon respectively.

The solar eclipse is likely the infected one. He has the theatrical and over the top nature Sun used to play up in the first videos, and the games. Meanwhile, he has Moon's intelligence. Able to rebuilt people, always planning ahead, etc.

The lunar eclipse is likely the one we've been spending our time with. He has Sun's anxiety and insecurities. Suprisingly, we don't see as many traits of Moon in him, but they are definitely here.

One thing to point out is, that one side of his face is white with a blue eye, and the other black with a red eye, which feels kind of symbolic, though it's most likely just a design choice.

The biggest question would be their existence. Why would there be two?

I am really not sure, but there are a few speculations!

One could be, that the two split due to the virus. That perhaps the virus created another personality, caused by the fact, that they are not meant to be one.

Another idea could be, that the solar side created the lunar side, as a parallel to the show's dimension. Perhaps the solar one pulled out certain personality traits that they weren't fond of, and gave them to the lunar one. Or perhaps they just split themself. Maybe this way, the virus was able to protect itself!

It's just a silly little theory though! I just thought, it's interesting, that the kind of Eclipse he is is never specified, given that we have a Sun, a Moon, two Solar Eclipses, a Lunar eclipse, and a Bloodmoon, y'know?

-Stardust

OH!!! OUHHHHH!!!!!! OUHG OKAY FIRST OF ALL THATS A SUPER FUN WAY TO VIEW RUIN OMG??? AND SECOND OF ALL I THINK I GET EXACTLY WHAT U MEAN AND HONESTLY I SUPER SUPER LOVE THAT!!!!!!

If it did turn out to be like that too, then it could sort of feel like a subtle nod to how people usually portray canon Sun and Moon, even the show itself!!! And stars honestly imo it would just make Ruin more interesting too!!

And any of ideas on how they could have split could be super fun to explore.... Specifically the one where the virus made them split gives the mental image of how water melting and freezing over and over in a crack can cause it to get bigger and bigger until it breaks apart, yk??? The virus just wiggling in deeper and deeper until the last bit of communication just snaps.

MAN I am like super vouching on some of these tbh HEHAHAJD I JUST BLORBO'D RUIN TODAY I'M NOT READY FOR HIM TO ENTER HIS VILLAIN ERA 2.0 /silly

[stepswowdsen]

【Magi】 JuAli Wearing Hanfu: Rambles 🖤❤️💛

Mainly JuAli rambles, but some XanLena rambles too, since in chats, I often bring up my fave ships together. Like this convo started off as "This is what I HC my fave ships' earrings and accessories to be"

JuAli is my Magi ship and XanLena is my KHR AU ship (Yume, Canon x OC) 💗💘💞

I was thinking I need to post more of my Magi ramble posts here, but I haven't cleaned them up yet, so here you go! I think I posted the gist of these rambles already on main before? But I'll post my new additions too.

Judar wears hanfu and hanfu earrings in my HC design. I imagined that he would wear gold and red hanfu earrings, and also snowflake/icicle ones! Silver snowflake ones, and glass icicle earrings would be cool... I also want him to have Snowflake, Moon, and Ice Dragon patterns on his hanfu... ❄️🐉🌙

I'm posting this here on side, cuz I haven't updated these arts yet.

Posting this at night but I was just thinking about them earlier this morning and yesterday too. I MISS YOU JUALI… I NEED TO DRAW YOU AGAIN SOON…

I miss drawing JuAli, I wanna draw and write for them again… Also cuz I eventually need refs for my HC designs of them so I can eventually commission them in it <3

I have been thinking of matching couple hanfu for them. Judar in black and red hanfu, and Alibaba in white and gold hanfu.

I've been slowly revamping my old dialogue scripts (writing ideas) of them too. I'll post them when I finish refining them ^^

I think I have some ideas to refine my Judar doodles one. The hanfu ref sheet and the Unfriendly Hater by Meddmia Vocaloid Song crossover parody WIPs are my fave doodles of him :)

Which makes sense since they're also the most recent! I've been meaning to redraw the hair and clothes on these…

Cuz god I love how I drew the eyes on these 🥰

...

My CUTE AMAZING black cat x golden retriever ship... Wahhh... 🐈‍⬛🐕

I want Alibaba to wear traditional Arabic clothes (white and yellow). I've been looking into it for now, but I wanna draw it soon... I also HC Alibaba to have tanner skin in my HC design

Me: I drew tentative rain drop earrings for now. I was thinking about it but considering Judar is ice magic themed… It'd be cool if he had crystal snowflake and icicle drop shaped earrings too. Judar is an ice magic/lightning magic main. Glass icicle earrings... So I think I may wanna put snowflake/ice and dragon patterns on his hanfu. The silhouette of a Chinese dragon would be rad ❄️🐉

JuAli are Sun/Moon and Fire/Ice themed, so I wanna include their leitmotifs as apart of my headcanon (HC) designs for them… ☀️🌙🔥❄️

Judar wearing black and red hanfu with either snowflake/icicle drop earrings or gold and red hanfu earrings with a Chinese ice dragon pattern and snowflake/icicle patterns on his hanfu. Possibly a moon motif… We'll see. 🐉❄️

Judar and Alibaba wearing hanfu… Perhaps inspired by these… I may need to add more gold onto the 2nd one, though.

White -> gold -> black gradient hanfu with (possibly) sun and flame patterns could be cool! ☀️🔥

I have trouble making light colours stand out on its own without contrast, hence white + gold + black hanfu could be a great solution. But I'll have to think about it, since I want them to match and for their hanfu to be direct opposites of each other for visual/colour contrast reasons

I want to include their motifs on their hanfu, though I also wanna make sure the design doesn't feel too cluttered 👍

C: Valid of you. Gl with that 🥺

Me: Yee thanks! I've been thinking of partially redrawing old doodles too 👍

C: Oooh pretty hanfu!! Nodding

C: Yaaay earrings! Good choices

Judar: Black Sun, Moon and Eclipse Symbolism and the Sun-Eating Dragon 🐉☀️🌙

I've been thinking that I really want to commission arts of JuAli sometime...

I haven't talked about it on my side, but I was thinking of commissioning arts of JuAli and XanLena.

Mire's art style is so gorgeous that I was thinking that I would be ESCTATIC to see JuAli and XanLena in this style, if possible...

As an example, I commissioned Mire to draw my KagePro ship KuroEne here: (X)

It doesn't have to be right away, since I still need to get my HC ref sheets in order first, but I've been brainstorming ideas for JuAli in this exact commission format... Since I want to commission arts of them with my HCs.

Because of course, I need to get my ref sheets in order and decide the details and design elements first. I have their flowers decided (red hydrangea and sunflowers), I just need to decide on the quotes and text and BG elements...

The rambles I have of coming up with ideas aren't ready to post yet since I still have to clean it up.

The summary of these rambles would be:

Since Judar is themed with the Black Sun and Moon, this also makes him Eclipse themed.

My friends Cinna and Jaqui were the ones that brought this up to me

And then when I thought about it, I thought about JuAli as: Black Sun x Sun, Moon x Sun, Eclipse x Sun

Therefore, to me, JuAli is "The Moon (Judar) Eating the Sun (Alibaba)"

I think I'm planning to have "The Moon Eating the Sun" as the tag line... Like I just think it's so perfect for them...

The moon eating the sun... Just like an eclipse :)

Since Judar is CN inspired, I thought about how I would LOVE to have the theme of "An ice dragon devouring the Sun" as a reference to Chinese Eclipse mythologies where it was believed that a Dragon would eat the Sun during a Solar Eclipse.

"Moon/Dragon eating the Sun" works really well for AliHaku too considering their Sun/Moon symbolism as well, but I think it also works really well for JuAli too :)

Considering Judar summons Seeker Ice Dragons in the Judar vs. Aladdin fight in the Kou Empire arc...

JuAli's Fire/Ice duality is very inchresting to think about with this~

Ice Dragon and Sun (Fire)

Judar's Seeker Ice Dragons

(Magi: Kou Empire arc - Ch. 255 Spoilers)

I was rereading the Judar vs. Aladdin fight in the Kou Empire arc and I love how dynamic Ohtaka's art is. I'm in love with the compositions.

Judar's ice dragons and the the last page with Judar being themed with the moon!!! That's so cool!

Judar’s leitmotif is the Black Sun and Moon ☀️🌙

Her art always looks gorgeous, but the last page goes so hard omg...

C: Makes sense! Valid

Yea Ohtaka is brilliant with compositions, perspectives, inking, and dynamic art and expressions.

Judar Earrings HCs

My ideas for Judar's earrings. Something along the lines of these.

Earring ideas for Judar: Snowflake and icicle drop earrings, Gold and red jewel earrings, Ice Dragon earrings, Black Sun and Moon shaped earrings

I thought mainly of snowflake and icicle drop ones.

XanLena Earrings HCs

Me: XanLena doodle WIPs 💜❤️

Me: Gold and red earrings also suits Judar too, but I noticed there was a lot of overlap between my faves since they're all meow meow mfs.

I'll also put the XanLena rambles in its own post too eventually.

Earring ideas for Xanxus: Flame shaped gold and red jewel earrings, red tassel earrings, feather earrings

Earring ideas for Selena: Lotus/flower earrings, moon shaped earrings, purple tassel earrings

Me: Like I also imagined Judar to wear gold earrings with a red jewel in the middle. I also gave Xanxus gold and red earrings too. Though tbf they can all have different kinds and multiple types of earrings.

C: Honestly valid. Yeah there's sm earrings there's one for everyone. Like how my favs all have different types of chokers in my HCs lmao

Me: OOO yeah that's valid! I love chokers + belt fashion aesthetics. Basically, I’m a fan of goth + punk fashion aesthetics for my meow meow mf faves

C: Yeee. A lot of my favs have earrings too in my HCs and all of them differently

Me: I imagine that Xanxus while wearing Viet traditional clothes would have gold and red earrings. Gold earrings that are flamed shaped with a red jewel in the middle. I also imagined red tassel earrings with a gold clasp for him.

Xanxus was born with a rare flame called the Flame of Wrath. The special characteristic of this Flame is extreme destructive power that can reduce anything to ashes.

He’s one of the only KHR characters that can manifest a flame in his hands, without the need for rings/weapons, unlike the others.

C: Nodding. Ohh flame shaped is nice... Tassels are great too

Me: I imagined that for Xanxus, gold flame shaped earrings with thin gold ends would be cute...

C: Cute. Aa yes

C: Tassels are great too

Me: Yeah I think tassel earrings and feather earrings (metal shaped feather earrings) also suit Xanxus

C: Nodding. Oh yeah feathers work too

[anxiescape]

Hello! Hope you are having a good day!

I'd like to ask how you came up with Space Macaque in your Stargaze fic?

I am having a good day, thank you! 😊

As for how I came up with Space Macaque... I have been waiting for someone to ask this question. 😈 (this is a long explanation, so buckle in.)

There are two main reasons that I came up with the idea.

1: The Shadowplay episode (obviously). He refers to himself as the moon, and I was like "OwO? I can work with this :3"

2: Specifically, this scene from the first Macaque episode.

I noticed how the little bits of debris were floating around him (even after the initial explosion he caused), and I was like, "huh, kinda like asteroids and moons around a planet, due to the planet's gravitational pull. Interesting." And then I noticed that he's just, like, really at ease and in his element just floating in the air while he mocks MK, all the while blatantly ignoring the laws of gravity.

I wondered if floating was one of his powers (since it doesn't really show up again in the show), and then I was like, "what if it is one of his powers?"

Being the big space nerd that I am (I actually have quite a few space-themed OCs), I set to work designing Moon!Macaque. I actually incorporated a lot of his canonical design into his powers and found ways to tie them into space-related things. I also gave him some extra little powers, such as the random fact that he always knows what phase the moon is in, regardless of the fact it's daytime or cloudy, and he can "see" anything that is within the moon's light (that's a hard one to explain, but if you're confused lemme know and I'll try to). Another random tidbit about him is he is stronger at night, and especially during a full moon.

His umbrakinesis (shadow manipulation) comes from the the fact that the moon is covered in shadows (y'know, the dark side of the moon). Since he hatched from a meteorite that originated on the moon (I decided since Wukong hatched from a rock, it would be neat for them to be born in similar ways—who knows how celestial monkeys are created?), it makes sense he'd have some sort of control over things pertaining to said moon. That's also why he can float, like one can on the moon due to its low gravity. He can also make small objects around him float if he focuses.

As for his super hearing, I dunno. I just think it's kind of funny that a creature from space, where there is no sound (okay there's technically sound in space but uggh that's a long explanation), has such sensitive hearing.

And then there's the physical aspects of his design. Black fur = the night sky. So I added stars to his fur because I could and they're cute. :3 His red mask is tied to the blood moon, which is when the moon falls within the darkest part of the Earth's shadow during a lunar eclipse, thus causing it to appear with a red tint. Gold eyes = stars. They glow in the dark as well, like stars do. His ears glow white like the moon (though I do like the idea of him having multi-colored ears).

Another random fact about him is that he smells like raspberries, due to the presence of ethyl formate in deep space. Ethyl formate gives raspberries their flavor, thus making him smell like raspberries.

(Also, his blood tastes like raspberries, and has some very interesting attributes, but that will be brought up later in Stargaze. It causes... issues, to say the least. 😬)

And, last but not least... I wanted to interpret the term "celestial monkey" a little more literally. Instead of celestial as in "relating or belonging to Heaven", I chose the definition of celestial as in "positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy." And so, Moon!Macaque was born. :)

Aaannd I hope I covered everything (that I can share at this point in time, anyway). I have been working on a character reference sheet for Moon!Macaque, but it won't be coming out for a bit because my computer keeps trying to overheat and I can only work on digital art a little bit at a time. 😩

In the meantime (and if you made it this far), enjoy this cute little sneak peek of Liu'er in his moon-themed hanfu that Wukong had specially made for him (and Ma, in her adorable pink hanfu—you get a cookie if you recognize it 🙃 (hint: it's in one of my other Stargaze-related drawings on my page)).

[luzswonderland]

Thoughts on Season 2 Thus Far..

I gonna keep most of my thoughts on all the episodes brief, but also long enough where you guys can get the idea of where these episodes stand in levels of importance to me. I already have a lot personal favorites in this first half of the season and hope that the second half will deliver the same energy.

EPISODE 1:  Separate Tides

Good episode to start off the second season

Episode does a good job of addressing the different circumstances that Eda, Lilith, and Luz have with adjusting to life after the events of “Young Blood, Old Souls.”

We see the Golden Guard for the first time. With a voice too. I have more to say about him later when I get to the future episodes. But he is a treat!

The reintroduction of the portal and Emperor Belos’ plans for the human world in this episode, does a good job of reminding the audience of what is as stake this season.

Adore Luz and Eda’s pirate outfits ❤ 

Overall, a strong start to a very ambitious season.

Episode 2: Escaping Expulsion (Personal Favorite)

We finally see Amity’s parents!!!

Wasn’t expecting Odalia’s eyes to be blue, but both parents fit the personalities I originally envisioned them to have

Luz teaching Eda and Lilith to use magic through the glyphs was so cute and shows how different both Eda and Lilith are when it comes to approaching magic

Love how Amity’s separation from Luz was the trigger that caused her to stand up to her parents

Even though I kinda knew the expulsion from Hexside wasn’t going to permanent, it still shows how much pull Amity’s parents have at Hexside and the Boiling Isles. 

Looks like the abominations that Alador has made for profit will be used to fulfill whatever plans Emperor Belos has for the human world. 

Loved Amity and Luz’s interactions!!!

Episode 3: Echoes of the Past (Personal Favorite)

Fantastic King centered episode

I know that invisibility spell will come in handy in one of the later episodes. Good job, Luz

Hooty and Lilith are a riot this episode. Was not expecting them to get along at all this season.

I thought the show was going to make them polar opposites, but good to see that Hooty has a fan in the house.

King trying to remember his past and recounting his childhood memories was so sad because you realize that he has been trying to find out who he really is this entire time😭

The temple where King was born holds so much history and I hope we go back there soon

Will we find out what happened to King’s dad? What potential does King hold? Find out next time on DBZ!!!

Episode 4: Keeping Up A-fear-ances

Finally get to see Eda and Lilith’s mom and her palisman’s a hawk.

Love the pattern of all members of the Clawthorne family having bird themed palismen. I wonder what palisman Eda’s dad has.

Love how the episode addresses the blatant issue that Gwendolyn has with trying to find a cure for Eda. She cares for her daughter, but she is being blinded by ambition

The scams in the book she was reading were kinda funny tho

Lilith being upset that her mom favors Edal more than her is relatable, but also makes sense considering how the curse impacted Eda’s childhood

Lilith wanting to travel with her mom makes sense and I’m happy she made the decision to do that

Lilith’s beast from is cool

We finally get more information about there being another human that came to the Boiling Isles long ago!!!

We finally catch up with what’s going on at home and see that Luz’s imposter is blending in just fine and Camila is none the wiser. At least that buys Luz some time in the Boiling Isles

Episode 5: Through the Looking Glass Ruins

We get a Gus-centered episode and I’m here for it. I love it when the show deviates from the main narrative and focuses on the supporting cast

Even though I’m not the biggest fans of their personalities, the introduction of the students from Glandus High was great

I really love the character designs of these students, especially Bria, she looks so cute

Gus getting more character development and bonding with Mattholomule was good to see, I hope we see more of their interactions in future episodes

SO MANY LUMITY MOMENTS!!!

Luz getting more attracted to Amity

Amity putting her job on the line, so they could find Philip’s diary

Luz saying that she hopes to show Amity the human world one day

Luz successfully getting Amity’s job back

The kiss on cheek at the end of the episode by Amity

The blushing!!!💜💚-I can go on and on

Amity’s new look fits her well and shows that she is starting to live for herself and not her parents-Good!

Through the help of the Echo Mouse, we also get more information about why Philip came to the Boiling Isle in the first place.

But the Echo Mouse is being picky and stops before it gets good😫

Episode 6: Hunting Palisman (Personal Favorite)

This is my favorite episode of the season so far and probably my top ten favorite episodes of the series.

We are finally introduced to Hunter as the Golden Guard and he is a treat

Everything from his character design, to his goals, to his interactions with Luz make him very intriguing.

The kids begin to pick out their palisman and a lot of them fit their personalities, especially Willow’s.

I’m glad the show is addressing the fact that Luz doesn’t know what she wants to do when she becomes a witch because tbh I’m not sure either. I know she wants to help and protect the people of the Boiling Isles but she can’t really do that if she wants to go back home.

What a good time to bring up this internal conflict

Kikimora wanting to get rid of Hunter makes sense seeing as how the Emperor’s Coven is based of performance

LIST OF FAVORITE HUNTER AND LUZ MOMENTS:

Hunter and Luz’s interaction on Hunter’s ship

Luz slapping Hunter to wake him up😂

Luz stealing Hunter’s staff

Hunter revealing his family history and why he defers to Emperor Belos

These two give off a good sibling vibe and I want to see more of this later

I originally thought the red cardinal was going to be for Luz, but it ends up being Hunter’s palisman at the end of the episode-Interesting

Whatever Luz’s palisman is going to be, I hope it’s an animal that fits her personality because I thought the red cardinal would have been perfect

Maybe she will get a violet-backed starling as a palisman🤔

Hunter comes off as very complex immediately and I love that the show let’s us know that he trying to figure out his place in the Boiling Isles as a powerless being.

Episode 7: Eda’s Requiem

An Eda centered episode is such a plus for this season

So far I feel like the show has had Eda be a main plot point, but she hasn’t really been given her own episode-This episode takes a good step in the right direction

Eda feeling like she’s losing both Luz and King because they have both trying to find out more about their personal journeys is equivalent to a mother accepting that fact that her kids are moving across the country 😥

Eda reuniting with Raine is nice to see. You can automatically tell right off the bat that they have history

Raine being a rebel against Emperor Belos while working under Emperor Belos as a coven leader is BOLD AF

I see why Eda fell for them

We are introduced to the Abomination and Beast Keeping Coven leaders and I love their character designs, especially for Darius

The scene where Raine and Eda play together was so beautiful and does a fantastic job of representing how pure their relationship was and currently is 

I love how Raine realizing that Eda has more to live for than she thinks and puts a stop to the song they play in order to sacrifice himself

I know we are going to see Raine again, but I really hope Belos doesn’t do anything bad to them. Raine is a sweetheart

Even though Luz and King lose the Gland Plix race, it was still nice to see that Eda came towards the end of the face.

The reveal of King wanting to take Eda’s last name at the end of the episode is one of the main reasons why I love King and Eda’s relationship. They really do come off as mother and son❤

Episode 8: Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door (Personal Favorite)

This is a Hooty’s centered episode which is a first for this show, but this ended up being one of my favorite episodes of the show because of what it addresses

Hooty helping King accidently discover his powers was a shock to me because I just through their interaction was going to end up being pointless

King can now be more useful in battle 😁

We finally see Eda’s dad and see why Eda has a hard time accepting her cursed side.

We also learn how the curse has negatively impacted her relationship with so many people, such as Raine 😥

Eda accepting her cursed side is the first step to begin this traumatic healing process. At this point, I don’t think the show will cure Eda of her curse and I don’t think they should honestly. It teaches the audience that you sometimes have to live with what you have whether it be a disease, a physical disability or mental illness.

GOOD LESSON👌👌

Eda’s harpy form looks amazing. I can’t wait to see what the show will do with this form in the future.

Hooty helping Luz with her crush on Amity was one of the best parts of the episode.

The Tunnel of Love scene and the mixed signals from Luz and Amity had be dying🤣

Luz building up the courage to ask Amity out was so sweet and so real at the same time.

It came off as real conversation between awkward teens trying to figure a romantic relationship out🥰

LUMITY IS CANON!!!😍💜💚

This happened sooner than I thought, but I’m glad it did. This is huge, especially for a Disney show.

Just when I started to like Hooty a lot more, he had to mess it up when he ate a letter from someone who could be King’s dad (?)

DANG IT, HOOTY

Hooty freaking out when he thinks he messed with helping King, Eda and Luz never got old 😂

The comedy was on point with this episode and I love how everything just falls in to place.

Episode 9: Eclipse Lake(Personal Favorite)

This episode had so much going on and I have a lot to say.

We get back to the Emperor Belos plotline of him trying to get to the human world and find out the Belos has actually been to the human world previously🤔

I wonder what Belos wants to do with Hunter and how he relates to these “plans”

Hunter is totally going to get betrayed by his uncle 😥

Amity’s palisman is adorable, I guess she got it off-screen

“DragonClaw Z”😂😂😂

Love how everyone is coming together to protect the house, it shows they really know what’s at stake

Amity using every opportunity she gets to call Luz her girlfriend is so cute❤

Hard to believe she hated his girl’s guts at the beginning of last season lol

Sick Luz is funny Luz

More lore about the secrets of the Boiling Isles and Titan’s Blood

I really wish Luz could have came to Eclipse Lake with the rest of the cast, but I guess the rest of the cast needed to experience Hunter for themselves lol

Hunter being roasted by Eda, King and Amity was hilarious 😂

“A bad, but sad boy.”-Yep that’s our Hunter 🤣

Hunter trying to get into Amity’s head concerning her relationship with Luz and her role in the Boiling Isles was surprising

I’m going to assume that Amity hasn’t been in a romantic relationship before so everything with Luz is new to her. Amity is usually very level-headed.

Even though Harpy-Eda is cool, I like that Eda doesn’t know how to control his form yet, it shows that she has a lot to learn before this form this 100% mastered

Hunter’s desperation to get his uncle’s approval is just sad; I really want to know his backstory because this isn’t it at all

Praise King for helping Amity figure out the text messages🙌

I love how Amity tries to relate to Hunter, it sweet and shows how much she has grown. If only see did a better job of hiding the key 😣

The fight between Amity and Hunter is amazing. I love when the show just flexes its animation like this. 

It may not be better than Eda and Lilith’s fight, but I still felt the tension between these two characters. When these two grow up, they are going to be some of the most powerful witches in the Boiling Isles for sure.

Hunter getting to Amity’s head about harming Luz is a low blow imo, but I’m glad Amity knew what was at stake in the situation

Crushing the key was smart tho. Even in stressful situations like these, Amity still keeps her cool. We love to see it😉

Luz can now use some of the Titan’s Blood from Amity’s glove to try to return back home!!!

This episode had no business being this good. When the plot kicks in the show, it never fails to deliver.

Episode 10: Yesterday’s Lie (Personal Favorite)

We finally catch up with what’s going on back on Earth and find out more about Luz’s impersonator. 

The gang making a makeshift portal out all of Eda’s junk is very creative. I wondered what they were going to do with that stuff now that Eda can’t sell human collectables anymore.

The dimension that Luz enters through the portal is very trippy and creative. It makes sense since the portal they made is not authentic. 

Luz mirror hoping and seeing someone impersonate her had to be scary. I couldn’t imagine.

We find out that Luz’s impersonator is actually a creature from the Boiling Isles known as a “Basilisk”

Vee’s backstrory is awful, I completely understand why she came to Earth and got comfortable after what she went through

We find out that Eda interacted with humans with an alias known as “Marylin”😂

Even though Luz doesn’t find a way home, this is the next best thing to let her mom know that she is okay.

Jacob gave off weird vibes immediately, so when he captures Vee to use her for fame, I wasn’t surprised.

What did surprise me was the fact that Jacob has been watching Vee for a while and he had the house where she transformed in monitored

I wonder if he’s seen anything else🤔

Camila is the GOAT. She came through and helped Vee out. A lot of people would have just ignored the situation, but she knew that Vee was important to Luz and I respect that👏👏

I’m glad she also agrees to keep Vee despite the situation

The scene between Luz and Camila was very heart-wrenching. Luz came clean about everything and Camila’s reaction to that was expected but it was still sad to see

The music and Camila trying to reach out to Luz was just 😭

This episode is a great mid-season finale. This episode addressed so much and foreshadows a lot of plot points to come in the later episodes.

The first half of season 2 had some bangers. More than half of these episodes are already in my top favorites of the series and we still have 11 episodes left. Good Job Owl House. I can’t wait see what the other half has left in store 🙌🙌

[system-threat-detected]

So I’m running a D&D game set in the Horizon universe, so I think about a lot of unnecessary worldbuilding stuff, like main exports/imports of tribes, what resources they might have available to them based on in-game evidence, and other stuff. It got me thinking about their clothes. Specifically the stranglehold the Oseram seem to have on linen. 

I don’t actually know a lot about clothes, cloth, or armor, so take that as you will. It’s something that vaguely interests me, but most of my knowledge comes from quick google searches, or that one time I went down a cloth-based rabbit hole on Wikipedia, so please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong about stuff. 

Out of all of the tribes that we see in-game, the Oseram are the only ones who use (what I’m assuming to be) linen in their armor. While this can be chalked up to design language - trying to get us to read someone as Oseram at a glance just by looking at them - I’m going to read more into it. 

Flax, the plant that linen is made from, grows well in Idaho/The Claim, and enriches the soil with nitrogen, blooms early, and is easily replaced by native plants, making it ideal for terraforming that part of the US. It would make sense for DEMETER to put it there, meaning the Oseram would be the ones who produced and sold the linen found everywhere else in game.

[ID: three Oseram mercenaries, dressed in leathers, metal, and cloth. end description.] 

Your average Oseram citizen also wears this cloth, though most of them seem to be wearing forge-worthy leathers (which could pass as armor anyways) based on my exploration of Pitchcliff and Free Heap. 

Another demographic who wears this non-leather cloth are common Carja citizens, as well as the poor/displaced people of Sunfall. More wealthy citizens and outlanders wear silk, and the nobles wear almost exclusively silk(Charles why did you think putting silkworms in the middle of Utah was a good idea? They are not native animals. Charles the silkworms that produce usable amounts of silk have been so domesticated they can’t even survive in the wild anymore. Charles silkworms can ONLY eat Mulberry tree leaves, which, thinking about it, I may actually have found in The Jewel. Charles pls.), but that’s a topic for another post. 

[ID: Five Carja citizens from the Horizon Zero Dawn art book. Two are labeled “Craftspeople Woman” and “Craftspeople Man”, who appear to be wearing mostly linen and some silk. One is labeled “Artisan”, and is wearing some linen, a lot of silk, and some decorative machine parts. The last two are labeled “Villager Man” and “Villager Woman”, and are wearing all linen, no silk. End description.] 

It makes sense that the Carja have access to this linen, as they canonically have good trading relations with the Oseram. 

It’s also worth pointing out that black/purple dye is time consuming and extremely difficult to do. The shadow Carja/Eclipse made it part of their Whole Aesthetic, which I find hilarious(but looking deeper into the implications, horrified). They’re canonically starving all the time and they still find the time to dye black clothes. 

[ID: A turnaround of an Eclipse thug, whose outfit is mainly tattered, deep black cloth, with some dark red, bullets, and a white mask. End description.] 

Black dye can come from chestnut trees, so there is, in fact, an in-game basis for this, as I found chestnut trees in The Jewel while looking for avocado trees, but I’m even more incredulous they figured out how to make purple. The most likely sources, since they obviously don’t have access to that super exclusive Mediterranean shellfish, are Rocky Mountain Irises, Blackberries, Elderberries, or Daylilies, none of which I have seen in game, but can grow in the Utah area.

We can interact with exactly one Utaru in the whole game, but the concept art for them appears to be mostly woven/dried plant leaves or leather, and some machine parts.

[ID: The front and back views of two Utaru. They both are wearing outfits with strips of dried plants or leather woven together in alternating black and yellow patterns, a mysterious mint green cloth, red feathers, a little bit of black fur, and a dried grass cape. Both are wearing hats made of woven plant/leather, machine parts, and what appears to be wood. End description.]

Looking at Rea, the Utaru we interact with in-game, the mysterious mint green is toned back to a more natural green, and it actually looks more like leather than fabric.

[ID: A waist-up in-game rendering of Rea, an Utaru woman. The rendered textures make everything previously assumed to be cloth or plant fiber, besides her grass cape, look like leathers that have been tanned differently. End description.] 

It’s possible the Utaru have access to cotton, but there simply isn’t enough in-game information to confirm or deny that. 

The Banuk and Nora tribes overwhelmingly use leather and hide, along with assorted machine parts (like metal or cables) in their wardrobe. It makes sense for them to be dressed this way, as where they live is colder than the Sundom or Plainsong. I have, however, noticed there are strips of cloth used in their outfits. 

[ID: Four generic Banuk warriors, wearing leathers dyed their traditional light greens, blues, yellows, and reds. Their heavy, warm outfits also include furs which range from, and sometimes gradient from, blacks to whites. There are strips of what appears to be vibrant blue cloth wrapped around their limbs, as well as attached to their weapons. End description.] 

The blue cloth the Banuk use to tie their boots up/their arm wraps on and on their spears is obviously a reference to the Blue Light, and is the only cloth in their outfits. The rest is warm leathers or furs. Their territory, Ban-Ur, is mostly covered in glaciers, so it makes sense they’d opt for overall warmer clothes.

While we know from Bergrund that the Banuk don’t like trading for ‘necessities’, it is possible that the easily-dyed blue cloth is one of the things they will trade for, as it holds religious symbolism for them.  

And the Nora:

[ID: Concept art of four generic Nora Braves, all wearing outfits comprised of natural leathers, white machine metal, and blue machine cables. End description.] 

[ID: Aloy wearing the Nora Silent Hunter Heavy armor. The armor is mostly made of natural leathers, but there is a green and blue net woven of some unknown material. End description.]

The green/blue net/rope stuff we see in Nora outfits is most likely woven from natural fibers taken from dogbane, nettle, or milkweed. 

Aloy’s scarf looks like it’s made of silk, 

[ID: An in-game image of Aloy. She is wearing the armor Teb made for her, and is standing in the dappled shadow of a tree. Her blue scarf is shining like silk. End description.]

But there’s a possible explanation: It’s the same one she had as a kid, that Rost wrapped her in as a baby. He was a well-traveled man, maybe he found it while he was on his vengeance quest, and kept it because it reminded him of his wife/daughter or something. (She’s wearing her baby blanket around her neck)

This, however... 

[ID: An in-game rendering of Olara, a Nora woman who is wearing an outfit made of natural leathers, dark blue netting, a dark blue cloth sash, leather belts, and what appears to be a knit wool shoulder cowl. End description.] 

Ma’am where did you get that wool. There are no sheep here. The Banuk have all the goats, and they don’t even use them for that. There are no Angora rabbits here. No alpaca. And yet. There you are. With your knit wool(?) shoulder cowl. Someone please help me out here. What could that be made out of. 

And then there are the Tenakth. The game doesn’t specifically state where they are from, but since only Carja texts seem to mention them, and the Banuk/Oseram/Nora lore we are provided doesn’t mention them at all, I’m assuming they’re south of the Sundom, kind of around Arizona/New Mexico area. So like. Hot. Dry. Sunny. I’d argue that what little we have seen of their designs supports this. 

[ID: Concept art of members of the Tenakth clan, shown from two different angles, one male, one female. Both are, wearing classic Tenakth blue and red body paint with thin white lines. Both are wearing light armor around their neck and forearms, and the woman is wearing a red chest wrap that appears to be made of cloth. They are both wearing skirts made of woven plant fiber, green, yellow, and red dyed leather, and red leg wraps. End description.] 

The body paint we see could easily double as natural sunblock, since they clearly don’t have the light, airy Carja silks to keep the sun off their backs. But I’m getting distracted again. 

[ID: An in-game rendering of Ullia, a Tenakth woman. The texture pattern on her clothes suggest the red material around her chest, arms, and legs, is in fact, cloth, while the strips of material around her waist and upper thighs are leather. She is also wearing shin-guards that appear to be made of dried bamboo. End description.] 

BAMBOO???? What does it MEAN?? (After a quick google search, I learned that bamboo does, in fact, grow in the Americas. A quick google search informed me it is native to a lot of South America, Central America, and the Southeastern United States. Why or how it got to the Southwestern States is beyond me, but it’s making me think the Tenakth territory (The Clan-Lands) is a lot wetter than I originally thought. Or they stole it from whoever boarders the eastern part of their territory.) But again, I’m getting off topic. Back to cloth. 

The Tenakth are known for raiding, and taking what they believe to rightfully belong to the strong, so even though they’re nowhere near The Claim, it’s likely they have stolen a linen from the Carja, but not enough to be able to consistently make a whole outfit out of it. They seem to just use it where it would be the most useful, like for attaching the bamboo/machine metal to themselves as armor. This lines up with having a scarcity of a certain material, so I’m pretty satisfied with this explanation. 

This concludes my long and unnecessary analysis of Horizon world clothing styles. I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I did figuring it out!

BONUS:

[ID: A still from the Horizon: Forbidden West trailer, showing two members of the unnamed clan that lives in what was once the Yosemite area. They are both wearing outfits made of leathers, scavanged machine parts, natural rope/string bindings, and carved wood. End description.]

Whoever these guys are, they don’t look like they have cloth, but they’re likely capable of growing flax, if I’m right about where they’re from. 

And the other one: 

[ID: A still from the Horizon: Forbidden West trailer, showing a person standing in a field of red vines, holding a withered carrot in their hand. They are wearing a yellow and green outfit, which appears to be made mostly of woven leaves and leather. End description.]

These people who appeared in the HFW trailer, who I’m no longer convinced are Utaru, don’t look like they have cloth either, but we don’t really get a good look at their outfits in the one scene they appear in the trailer. 

[psychosistr]

Snow Day

Summary: After a particularly rough day, Domino isn’t in the best mood. Fortunately, Steelbeak knows just the thing to cheer him up- all he needs is a nice day and some of his partner’s favorite weather.

Notes: This was a holiday gift for @thefriendlyfour and I hope you all enjoy it as well ^.^ As always, Domino (as well as Steelbeak’s outfit design) belongs to the ever amazing @thefriendlyfour / @eleanorose123 (though I think Domino’s winter outfit in this one was originally designed by @akysi ), so make sure you go check out their work as well! =^.^=

There were many things to like about the city of St. Canard: Exciting night life. Great views of the bay. A diverse ecosystem in and around the town. Plenty of places to eat, shop, and steal from. A resident super-hero (though that being likable was subjective). A prison with terrible security for easy escape (again, subjective).

The weather, Dominic thought, was decidedly not one of the things to like about St. Canard.

The loon and his partner, Steelbeak, had just endured an all-day mission for FOWL that involved driving all over the city in temperatures just short of freezing. Normally, the red-eyed bird enjoyed colder weather- winter was his favorite season, after all. Today, however, had been that uncomfortable kind of cold where it seemed fine at first but, over time, made you regret not choosing a warmer coat when you left (they’d both made that mistake, and had relied on his car’s heater to thaw themselves out every time they were done at one location) that only got worse when the clouds decided to precipitate just enough for it to be misty but not enough to snow, resulting in the clammy kind of cold that seeped into their clothes and had them shivering every time they stayed outside just a little too long.

Everything culminated in a showdown with Darkwing Duck at the bay where the two top-ranking agents attempted to use FOWL’s newest device, the “PRESSURIZER”, to drain all of the water and use it as an extremely dangerous high-pressure water canon to extort the town’s residents and government for billions. They had been so close to victory…until that infuriating little red headed girl that always trailed along behind the city’s protector used a hockey stick to launch a wrench that Darkwing’s (admittedly attractive) sidekick had on him in an impressive ricochet shot that perfectly hit the “self-destruct” button (Steelbeak would later swear to pay a visit to the scientist responsible for that little feature) on the console right between the two fowls. Had the resulting blast not sent the pair plummeting into Audubon Bay, Dominic would have been inclined to comment on the child making such an impressive and difficult shot so easily.

As it stood, however, he wasn’t in any hurry to congratulate the one responsible for submerging him and his partner in a bay that was one step above freezing.

Once the deadly duo had dragged themselves up from the ocean’s chilling depths, they made a hasty retreat to Dominic’s car and sped off just in time to avoid the police. While they’d avoided any major injuries (bumps, bruises, scrapes, and singed feathers were par for the course when it came to their line of work), the two agents ended the day feeling exhausted, frustrated, soaked to the bone, shivering like they were trying to avoid hypothermia (which may not have been far from the truth). Oh, and let’s not forget the cherry on top of this wonderful day- Dominic’s car now absolutely reeked of sea water from the two having to sit in it without having time to dry off or change their clothes.

By the time they got home, showered, and changed, it was late and neither man was in a particularly good mood. Both of them just wanted a few days to unwind before having to deal with anymore insanity. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

Well, apparently it was.

No sooner had the two gotten settled on opposite ends of Steelbeak’s couch, fully intent on relaxing before dinner, than the large screen across the room flickered to life on its own. Dominic held back a frustrated groan and could hear a barely muffled sound of displeasure from the lighter bird across from him.

The images on the screen came into focus and three familiar silhouetted figures appeared on it, the one seated in the middle doing the talking as per usual. “Chief Officer Steelbeak, agent Domino, we have a new mission for you.”

Dominic ignored the muttered “gimme a break” from his right, though he certainly agreed with the sentiment wholeheartedly. “When do we start?”

Both agents groaned internally at their leader’s rather curt reply. “First thing in the morning at 8:00 sharp.”

He went on to explain the details of their mission, but Dominic was only idly absorbing the information (they’d be given proper instructions in the morning). What the loon got from High Command’s summarized description was that the science department had developed some sort of large egg-shaped sun-blocking device that would create a false eclipse. While the citizens of Calisota were panicking over the false eclipse, FOWL would be taking advantage of the chaos to rob multiple high-value targets at once ranging from museums to laboratories.

Apparently this all had to be done tomorrow, as it was the only day of the coming weeks predicted to have a substantial amount of sunlight for the device’s deployment to make a significant impact.

Although Steelbeak seemed just as thrilled (maybe even less so) than his partner, the lighter FOWL managed a convincingly neutral acceptance of their orders. “Sure thing. We’ll be up an’ waitin’ for the call.”

After receiving a similar acknowledgement from Dominic, the screen went dark once more.

With no more eyes on them (at least, they were fairly certain there were none, it was hard to tell sometimes whether or not with that thing..), the chief officer and his partner finally vocalized their displeasure- Dominic with a frustrated sigh and Steelbeak with an irritated groan.

“No rest for the wicked, it seems.” The loon shook his head, not bothering to hide his scowl anymore. “You’d think we’d get at least ONE day off after what they just put us through…”

Steelbeak rolled his eyes, his scowl matching the darker bird’s. “That’s the problem with those ‘workin’ behind the shadow’ types- they get t’ sit around all day tellin’ everyone else what t’ do an’ forget how exhaustin’ it is bein’ a field agent……like t’ see ‘em try runnin’ ‘round all day an’ deal with stupid heroes shootin’ junk at ‘em…” The last sentence was muttered disdainfully, but was certainly not lost on the other man.

“Now that is something I’d pay to see.” Dominic sighed, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes. Might as well relax while he could, seeing as he’d have to head straight to bed after dinner to make sure he had enough energy for tomorrow. “That or some bad weather…I’d actually pay for it if it meant having a day off.”

With his own eyes closed, the loon missed the look of realization that appeared in the lighter fowl’s dark eyes….and the devious smirk that soon followed…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A loud, rather irritating ringing woke Dominic up from his slumber. Rolling onto his side with one red eye barely open to peer at his bedside clock and the covered window across the room, he was further irritated by the fact that it was too early for his alarm to go off- it was only half past five and he’d been hoping to rest until at least seven. The ringing, he soon realized, was coming from his phone rather than his alarm clock.

While he was very tempted to simply ignore whoever thought it was okay to call him before the sun was even starting to rise, the half-awake loon recognized the ring tone and, resignedly, answered it.

Just because he deemed the one calling him worthy of being answered, however, didn’t mean he was pleased by the literal wake-up call. “Steelbeak..you have five seconds to convince me not to go next door and smother you to death with one of your tacky pillows..”

That distinctive laugh could be heard through the receiver, sounding far more awake than anyone had any business being at this time of day. “Well, good mornin’ t’ you too, sunshine.” Before Dominic had a chance to protest the mocking nickname or threaten to hang up, the much more awake fowl continued speaking, this time in a slightly more serious tone. “Get up an’ get dressed, we’re leavin’ in fifteen. Don’t worry ‘bout breakfast, I’ve got ya covered.”

Well that certainly helped wake him up. Rubbing his eyes with his free hand, Dominic sat up and stretched his legs to help get his body on the same page as his mind. “What happened? Did High Command call and change the time?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, it’s not that big of a deal. Just get dressed an’ meet me in the hall.” Just before he hung up, Steelbeak added one more thing as an afterthought. “Oh, an’ wear somethin’ warm- warmest ya got.”

Looking down at the phone in his hand once the dial tone began to play, Dominic was left with more questions than answers. Had the temperature gone down further since yesterday? Had something come up that changed High Command’s plans? Why was Steelbeak so awake and aware of what was going on?

Despite the many questions floating through his now-awake brain, Dominic did as his partner instructed and got ready for the day. Once his feathers were straightened properly, the loon opened his closet and moved aside his usual outfits for a much warmer one that he typically reserved for the coldest time of the year: A white coat with both light and dark blue accents, a belt-like clasp, a blue and white snowflake emblem on the bottom above the fluffy white trim, and even kept the aesthetic of his usual outfit by placing white buttons in a domino-like pattern over the blue squares of fabric on his torso. The coat had matching white gloves, blue and white boots, a white scarf with a snowflake emblem like the one on the bottom of his coat that was currently tucked into his collar to help him stay warm, and a white pork-pie style hat (he would never understand why people named clothing styles such ridiculous things, but the hat was comfortable) with a light blue hat band and two blue dots to match the coat’s motif.

By the time he left his apartment, Steelbeak was waiting in the hall for him with two thermoses of coffee. The taller man was also dressed in a different outfit than usual, but sharp red eyes could still see the edge of a white sleeve under the hem of the rooster’s long dark red coat that was zipped up all the way to the top, the brown fur-lined hood resting on his shoulders. While his pants were black like usual, they were thicker and reminded the loon of ski pants. The black gloves and dark red sunburst style boots (again, who chooses these names?) lined with fur that matched his hood completed the look.

Holding out one thermos for the darker bird to take, Steelbeak took a sip of coffee from his own and gave his partner a knowing grin. “Took ya long enough. C’mon, we gotta get goin’ ‘fore it gets too late.”

Dominic gladly took the thermos and its energy-granting contents, pleased as always to find it prepared exactly how he liked it- today’s batch even had traces of peppermint, which brought a small smile to the loon’s dark beak before he followed the rooster to the elevator at the end of the hallway. “Too late for what, exactly? The sun shouldn’t be up for another two hours.” He still had plenty of questions that had yet to be answered.

“Exactly.” A black-gloved finger pressed the button for the elevator, its owner smiling over the minor victory of the doors opening immediately rather than having to wait for them. “That’s why we gotta be back before then in case High Command calls.”

“Wait..” Dominic followed the taller man into the elevator, but made his confusion over their early departure transparently clear. “If High Command hasn’t called yet, then why are we leaving?”

The loon’s answer was that same knowing grin from before- the one that both frustrated him for being out of the loop regarding whatever was going on but also intrigued him because Steelbeak didn’t normally keep secrets (at least, not from HIM) for very long and usually shared whatever juicy bit of information or despicable plan was rattling around in his devious brain. “All you need t’ know is that it’s VERY important an’ you’re gonna be glad we left early. Trust me.” Well THAT just left the shorter bird with even MORE questions. Unfortunately, any further inquiries were put on hold once the elevator doors opened again and the duo stepped out into the parking garage. “We’re takin’ my car ‘til yours stops smellin’ like a mermaid’s bedroom.”

Dominic had no problems with that and willingly followed the other fowl to his overly flashy car- he wasn’t really in the mood to drive and probably wouldn’t be until he’d gotten through his first coffee. “Do I even want to ask how you know what that would smell like?”

“I’ve been ‘round the block a few times. Let’s just hope we don’t get any missions in the south pacific anytime soon.” Steelbeak’s chuckle made it hard to tell if he was joking or not, a typical part of his sense of humor that Dominic had gotten used to over the past five months of their relationship. He made a mental note to ask about the alleged mermaid encounter another time while the two of them got settled into their seats. “Put this on.”

Looking up from buckling his seatbelt, red eyes widened in mild disbelief when he saw the fabric being presented to him. “A blindfold?” Thinking he’d perhaps jumped to conclusions too soon, Dominic looked over the long strip of black silk with a gaudy pink heart pattern once again, but, no, it was definitely a blindfold, albeit a rather tacky one that made half of his mind want to ask why the other man had something like that in his possession…and the other half had a feeling it already knew... “Why-”

“I’m aductin’ ya.” The taller fowl jokingly said with that infuriatingly intriguing grin. “But you’re gonna love it, trust me.”

Red eyes rolled in feigned annoyance as Dominic took the blindfold with his free hand, but didn’t make any moves to put it on just yet. “And why, exactly, should I ‘trust you’ and impair my vision after you’ve admitted to abducting me?”

“ ‘cause you’d still kick my butt, even if ya couldn’t see it.” Well, yes, that was definitely true…and this was Steelbeak he was dealing with- the man hadn’t given him any reason not to trust him sine they’d started going out…

……

…………

“….Fine..” Setting his coffee down momentarily, Dominic tied the tacky silk over his eyes and leaned back in the passenger’s seat once he had the thermos back in his hands. “If you try anything, you’re hand is going straight into the bay…without the rest of you going in after it.”

Though he could no longer see it, the loon could easily hear the smirk in the metal-mouthed fowl’s voice as the car rumbled to life around him. “Wouldn’t dream of it, short-fuse.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was hard to tell how long they’d been driving with his vision obstructed, but Dominic had finished his coffee by the time he felt the car shut off. “Can I take this ridiculous thing off yet?”

There was a beat of silence, as if the vehicle’s other occupant was giving the question serious thought. “Hmmm…yeah, I guess so..” Before the white gloved fingers could start on the knot, however, an addendum was added to the previous comment. “But don’t open your eyes.”

Even with his eyes covered, Dominic hoped that the glare he was sending the other bird’s direction would still be noticeable. “I hope you know my patience is wearing thin. You’d better have a good reason for waking me up before dawn, dragging me out of bed, and taking me on a joyride without giving me ANY-”

“I’ve got a good reason. I promise.” Steelbeak’s voice was resolute. His tone betrayed no signs of mischief or ill intent, not that Dominic really expected there to be any, but it was still somewhat reassuring to hear it, anyway... “You’re just..gonna have t’ trust me on this one, Deedee.”

Dominic was prepared to argue the point, or simply take the blindfold off and be done with the whole charade (yesterday’s disasters combined with his unexpected awakening didn’t have him in the best of moods)……but that pause in Steelbeak’s last sentence gave him pause, as well.

The larger man didn’t sound as confident as he had leading up to this point. He sounded almost…hesitant? Uncertain? It was hard to say. Either way, it sounded more like he was asking for Dominic to trust him, rather than demanding it, but it was almost as if he wasn’t sure he’d be given such a thing…

“……” Taking in a very slow, deliberate breath before exhaling it in equal measure, the white gloved fingers finally began their task of untying the blindfold. “Fine.” Once the silk was gone, red eyes remained firmly shut. “But my earlier statement still stands.”

He heard a brief chuckle, but this one sounded relieved rather than amused. “Don’t worry, you’ll like this, I promise.” The car door on his left opened and shut, followed by a minute of silence before his own door opened. He felt a light tug on the blindfold still being clutched in his hand. “This way.”

Dominic followed his partner’s lead out of the vehicle, hearing the door close behind him once he was far enough away. He heard a brief click afterwards, as if something had been opened, but couldn’t tell what it was. As he was lead further away from the car, he noticed an odd sound and sensation below his boots- the ground beneath him was…crunchy? That was the only way he could think to describe it- crunchy in sound and loose in texture. “Where exactly are we?” He thought for a moment they were at the beach, but the sand there wouldn’t make this sort of noise. It…kind of felt like-

There was a creaking sound, like something heavy and metallic being pushed open. “Why don’t ya open up those pretty red eyes of yours an’ see for yourself?”

Taking the other man’s advice and doing so, Dominic’s red eyes finally opened for the first time since he’d gotten into the car with his partner, and what he saw momentarily took his breath away before it was exhaled in a visible puff.

The two fowls were standing just inside the gates of the very same park they went to during their first date. While it was still dark out with only the dim lighting of the street lamps providing any visibility, there was one very noticeable difference this time:

Snow.

Every inch of the park- and the city as a whole, it seemed- was covered in a thick blanket of snow. The park’s grassy fields had been completely buried under the fluffy white precipitation, as had the walking trails and sidewalks in and around the park. The trees and other shrubbery resembled cotton balls with how thoroughly their foliage had been coated, and in the distance Dominic could even see that the lake had frozen over. There were already so many of the beautifully cold flakes scattered about, and even more still falling from the thick, dark clouds above that showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Curious as to how he hadn’t felt the falling snow sooner, the loon’s red eyes drifted up and finally took notice of the large black and white striped umbrella above him. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw his partner watching him with an amused yet fond smile while holding the umbrella with his free hand.

The expression brought a slight flush to the darker bird’s cheeks that, even if it were noticeable, he’d blame on the cold if he was ever called out for it. “H-How-” He had even more questions now than before he’d gotten in the car, and, downplaying the slight stutter to his speech by clearing his throat and pretending it was just a dry throat from the cold air, he was intent on finally receiving some answers. “How is this possible? The reports all said it was supposed to be sunny today.”

Steelbeak shrugged one shoulder, the grin on his gleaming beak betraying the words that left it. “Y’know how unpredictable the weather is ‘round here…‘specially with all the supervillains runnin’ ‘round changin’ things just ‘cause they feel like it.” Apparently deciding the umbrella was no longer needed after the big reveal of his surprise, Steelbeak closed it and set it by the park gate. “Or, y’know, if someone offers ‘em a few million big ones t’ start a snowstorm and ‘suggests’ a few choice places t’ hit up an’ keep any annoyin’ superheroes busy.”

Dominic followed the lighter bird as he ventured deeper into the park, giving him a curious look accompanied by a quirked brow. “If you made all of this happen, then why was it so important to get out here this early? We could’ve waited until the sun was up.”

Hands now resting comfortably in the pockets of his coat, Steelbeak gave another calm shrug. “I dunno ‘bout you, but I don’t exactly trust the ‘freaky four’ t’ practice things like restraint.” Dark eyes glanced up at the thick clouds and the still plentiful amount of snow falling down on the city below. “At the rate this stuff’s fallin’, I figure we got about three hours before the snow drifts get taller than you…short fuse.” He side-eyed the loon with a smirk. Red eyes rolled as Dominic shook his head, choosing to ignore the jab at his height compared to his monumentally tall partner. (Honestly, though, who didn’t seem short compared to him?) “And..” The loon’s attention returned to the other fowl when he heard the slightly softer, less sef-assured tone in Steelbeak’s voice. Steelbeak was glancing away now, a bit of red visible beneath his off-white cheek feathers. “I..know ya love this stuff…figured you’d wanna come out an’ have some fun before the whole town gets snowed in…plus there’d be no one out this early, less people around an’ all that…”

It was once again Dominic’s turn to blush. Any irritation he’d felt from his unplanned awakening was forgotten almost instantly. Now that he had a chance to look at- really look at- his partner, he noticed the things he’d missed earlier in the chaotic whirlwind of events leading up to this point: His feathers had clearly not been preened since his shower the previous night. His comb wasn’t standing up quite as straight as it usually did. His eyes were bloodshot, albeit only slightly- he must’ve taken eye drops at some point to hide it. His eyes also had dark circles under them that indicated-

“You didn’t sleep last night.” Although the red-eyed fowl was truly touched by how much thought Steelbeak put into all of this, he still couldn’t help but ask- “Why?” He elaborated further when he was met with a confused look from the taller bird. “Why go to all this trouble?”

The question made a grin appear once more on the metal-mouthed rooster’s beak. “C’mon, stripes, between the two of us, YOU’RE the one that actually WENT t’ school.” He chuckled, the grin on his face practically beaming. “Thought you’d know what a ‘snow day’ was.”

“A..snow day?” Wow, that was a term Dominic hadn’t heard since his school days.

“Ding, ding! Startin’ t’ ring any bells yet, wise guy?” Steelbeak teased as the pair walked over the park’s snowy trail (or at least what one could assume to be since it was slightly lower than the ground around it). Once he’d had his laugh, though, the rooster’s grin softened into something calmer. “High Command needed a sunny day t’ make their plan work- no sun, no stupid eight AM mission, so we get the day off. Plus, even if High Command decides they wanna try somethin’ else, they’re gonna need time t’ come up with a new plan an’ send a helicopter t’ pick us up since the streets’ll be too buried t’ drive by then, so we get plenty of time t’ relax an’ enjoy breakfast when we get back.” One dark gray eye winked down at the loon playfully. “Sounds like a win-win, if ya ask me.”

Darn, that grin was infectious. “A win-win indeed.” Dominic’s own dark beak soon lit up with a smile as he nodded in wholehearted agreement. He had to give credit where it was due- that was a very well thought out and expertly executed plan. “I have to say, I’m impressed you came up with all of this so quickly.”

“Hey, I didn’t get t’ be Chief Officer just ‘cause of my good looks- there’s a pretty big brain behind this gorgeous mug.” Ah, and there was that cocky grin and wink followed by the exaggeratedly “flirtatious” eyebrow wiggle that never failed to make the loon laugh.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Dominic wasn’t sure how, but he managed to get the whole sentence out with only a few quiet, barely restrained chuckles slipping in. If there was one thing that Steelbeak knew how to do, it was make his partner smile and laugh and feel a hundred times lighter than he had before.

After the misery of the previous day, Dominic decided, he’d gladly take this much more pleasant alternative.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The deadly duo spent a while simply walking around and admiring the fresh-fallen, undisturbed beauty of the snow covered park. It felt so much like their first date- the two of them just walking around, conversing freely, enjoying one another’s company without anyone around to bother them; he’d even talked Steelbeak into ice skating with him over the frozen lake and was pleased to see that the rooster’s balance had improved considerably, only needing to be helped up a handful of times.

While it felt similar, though, it also felt like a completely different experience altogether. Back then, they’d still been getting to know each other, getting used to one another. Now, they were still learning things about each other, but there was a greater feeling of familiarity, as well as a sense of comfort that came from that familiarity. There were still boundaries they were discovering and learning how to work around, but it was leaps and bounds from where they were before that night almost half a year ago.

As he passed beneath a tree off of the park trail, Dominic’s musing on his relationship with his partner was stopped by a sudden clump of snow falling onto his hat.

He tipped his head back, looking up at the glistening branches curiously and allowing the frozen flakes still resting on his hat to fall off. Well, the tree WAS heavily coated with snow and ice, a stray breeze could have-

Another clump of snow, this one rounder and more firmly packed, descended at a slight curve- as if it had been thrown from somewhere behind him- towards him and hit the surprised loon in the face before he had time to move away. “!!” Brushing the snow from his eyes, he looked back over his shoulder at the only other person in the park. “I saw that..”

Steelbeak, who’d stopped a few feet away from the tree to kneel down and adjust one of his boots, gave the loon a slightly raised brow and his best attempt at an earnestly confused expression. “Saw what?” His attempt at faking innocence would have been much more effective if it wasn’t clear that he was holding back a smile and that one of his gloves still had snow on it.

Oh, so he wanted to play games, huh? Fine. Dominic could play, too. “Nevermind…must have been my imagination…”

Stepping closer to the tree, one of the loon’s hands was freed from its glove- his back to the rooster as he walked around the base to keep it out of his sight. After slipping the glove into his pocket, his still-gloved fingers trailed along the snow-covered tree. From an outside perspective, it would look like he was idly tracing simple patterns into the powdery snow of the trunk. In reality, however, he was readying his ammunition. By the time there was enough snow accumulated in his covered palm, Dominic had reached the other side of the tree and was able to quickly transfer it into his other hand without being noticed. A quick packing between both hands and the sharpshooter had his weapon locked and loaded.

When he suddenly made a sharp turn and jumped back out the way he came, Dominic was not at all surprised to see Steelbeak waiting with another sizable clump of snow in his hands, clearly prepared to throw it at the other side of the large tree with his hands raised over his head.

Steelbeak, on the other hand, was very surprised to see the loon doubling back and catching him in the act. So surprised, in fact, that he didn’t have time to dodge the snowball that was sent hurtling towards him. “!!!” The snowball found its target’s face, causing said target to let out a startled squawk from literally going snow-blind. The whole ordeal made his hands move just enough to turn his own weapon against him, the clump of snow that was once above him now falling all over his head and torso. “Hey, no fair! Cheap shot!”

Dominic smirked at the prone rooster, quickly forming more ammunition and ducking behind the tree for cover while his “enemy” was busy shaking and wiping snow off of himself. “I was merely returning the favor- now we’re even.”

With his vision restored and most of the snow removed, Steelbeak smirked as well and readied another oversized snowball. “Well, it ain’t gonna stay that way for long.”

And with that, the war had begun. The entire park quickly became a battleground as two expertly trained secret agents crafted and launched their handmade weapons at one another.

Dominic had the clear advantage- snow was his favorite weather and he was truly in his element. The aquatic fowl was able to quickly craft practically perfect spheres from the terrain around him and throw them with pin-point accuracy. The tree he’d stationed himself behind made for good cover between shots, allowing him to safely stockpile ammunition and retreat when he was under heavy fire. From time to time, he’d dart out and weave between the surrounding foliage to fire off multiple shots and even slid across the lake a few times to stay ahead of his adversary.

Steelbeak, on the other hand, was clearly not as used to interacting with the frozen liquids he attempted to wield. The metal mouthed fowl didn’t have the finesse (or apparently the knowledge to take off his gloves and use the heat of his hands to melt the dry flakes) to craft small snowballs, and instead scooped up large quantities of the loose powder and form what could only be described as “snow cannonballs”. These larger projectiles took more time to make and weren’t as precise as his quick-footed and quick-witted rival’s smaller spheres, but they were capable of devastating damage when they managed to hit and knocked the slippery sharpshooter off of his feet more than once.

The battle raged for longer than either combatant cared to keep track of, the once pristine park now full of holes and gashes from their wintery war. The two snow covered fowls laughed and shot comebacks at one another along with their projectiles. It was certainly a sight to behold- a duo of deadly spies who carried out assassinations and mass slaughters of enemies on a regular basis now using their battle skills and instincts to throw balls of snow at each other with the excitement of school children. If anyone from work- be it an eggman, fellow agent, or Darkwing Duck himself- were to see the well-known chief officer of FOWL and his normally stern, red-eyed-glare wielding partner and tell others what they’d witnessed, chances were that no one would ever believe them.

Dominic himself could hardly believe it, but he was having far too much fun to stop. Retreating back to the trunk of his chosen shelter, the loon managed to hit Steelbeak’s large and vibrant tail feathers with his last snowball before working rapidly to replenish his supply.

“Yeow!” Steelbeak yelped from the packed precipitation striking his perfectly plumaged posterior. “Ohh, you’re gonna get it for that one!”

From his hiding spot, Dominic could hear the larger bird making another of his plus-sized snowballs. “We’ll see about that!” He parroted the other man’s earlier words over his shoulder while topping off his ammo cache. Confident he could dodge whatever size the lighter fowl’s newest snow monstrosity happened to be, Dominic left his makeshift fort and prepared to fire off his more manageable artillery.

His confidence was immediately shaken by the small-boulder sized chunk of snow hitting his face with enough force to send him toppling into a deep snow bank.

It took a minute for Dominic’s world to stop spinning, and a few more seconds for his senses to return enough to realize that the hazy white blur he saw was snow piled around his head and (thankfully) not spotty vision caused by a concussion. As he sat up, the loon shook the snow off of himself, needing to retrieve his nearly camouflaged hat from the white mound.

His attention was soon stolen, however, by the menacing shadow that was cast over him. Looking up, red eyes widened at the sight of his opponent holding an absolutely MASSIVE chunk of snow even larger than the last one over his head with a smirk. “Any last words, wise guy?”

Hands planting themselves against the ground behind him in preparation to run or fight back, Dominic’s gaze darted rapidly around his surroundings. There had to be a way out of this!

Then, he found it- his bare hand touching something textured and rough hidden within the snow. Looking back up at the tree above them, a plan at last formed in the clever fowl’s fiendish mind. He’d only have one shot at this…

Gripping the object he’d found, Dominic smirked while making eye contact with the unaware rooster. “Yes…but would it be in bad taste to say ‘freeze’?” Without any further explanation, the loon’s bare hand emerged from its hiding place in the snow to briefly reveal the stick it was clutching before throwing it at a sharp angle that just barely missed the other fowl’s head.

“What the-?!” Steelbeak, at first thinking the projectile was meant for him, instinctively ducked to avoid it, nearly dropping the colossal cold-ball clutched in his hands. Thinking himself safe, he smirked back down at the presumed-defenseless loon beneath him. “Your aim’s slippin’, Deedee- ya missed.”

“Oh, I don’t miss.” The darker bird replied with a wicked smirk before putting his weight back onto his arms and rolling the extra foot he needed to avoid what was about to happen.

Following the other man’s red-eyed gaze up to the tree he was still standing beneath, Steelbeak’s own dark eyes widened at the sight of the stick Dominic had thrown striking the completely-snow-covered top of the tree. By now, there was so much of the frozen precipitation accumulated on its branches that it looked nearly twice its normal size. This made the realization of what was about to happen all the more chilling- in more than just the literal sense.

“Hmph…well played, stripes..” Was all Steelbeak could get out before the domino effect came into play. The disturbed snow on top of the tree fell, falling into and shaking the snow on the next branch. This pattern cascaded down through every level of the tree, resulting in a miniature avalanche that left the large fowl buried under an even larger mound of snow before he had time to run away.

The backdraft of air and snow was strong enough that Dominic had to shield his eyes with his gloved hand, holding onto his hat with the other to keep it from blowing away. Peeking out once the air had settled, a pleased smirk found its way to the loon’s beak as he observed his handiwork: The entire base of the tree and a good portion of the trunk were now buried in snow. Where his opponent once stood was crumpled lump in the mound of white flakes with no sign he was alive other than the single black-gloved hand sticking straight up like a flag- one of surrender, the loon mused jokingly.

Deciding it would be best for everyone if the taller man didn’t catch hypothermia or pneumonia, Dominic figured it would be best to show mercy for once and dig his fallen adversary out of his precipitated prison. Dawning his second glove once again, white-covered hands made short work of shoveling the equally white powder away from the lump beneath the extended black glove. After a minute or two, he found a gleaming metal beak within the snow, and soon the rest of the head attached to it became visible.

Dark grey eyes blinked the world into focus as their owner looked up dramatically. “Wow, think I finally found the light at the end of the tunnel.” The same eyes glanced over at his rescuer, the corner of his mouth lifting into a small smirk. “Gotta say, you’re not quite what I expected an angel t’ look like……but I ain’t complainin’.”

Dominic returned the look in kind and winked down at the still partially buried man beneath him. “Keep it up and I’ll send you to heaven my way.” A quiet laugh shook the smaller bird’s shoulders as he shook his head with an undeniably fond smile. “While I do admire your ability to flirt while half frozen, frostbite isn’t exactly charming- let’s get you out of there, shall we?”

With a quiet chuckle of his own, Steelbeak started sitting up to extricate himself from his icy prison. “Yeah, probably for the best..think I feel my tail feathers freezin’ o-” He froze (not literally for now), eyes blinking in surprise as they looked from the loon’s face down to his own hand that was still sticking out of the snow.

Clasped firmly around the rooster’s large black-gloved hand was a smaller one clad in white.

Dominic knew what the other’s look was about and why the normally talkative man had gone uncharacteristically silent. “It’s fine.” He offered with a small but reassuring smile before digging his heels into the snow and pulling the other man back up onto his feet.

Once he was back to his usual towering six and half foot (seven if his comb was counted) height, Steelbeak looked down at the hand still clasped around his own with an expression somewhere between elated and nervous. “So…am I ‘bout t’ go swimmin’ in the bay after that..?”

Dominic shook his head, giving the larger palm in his own a light squeeze for reassurance. “Not this time. I want to keep it around for now.”

The nervousness left the lighter fowl’s expression, leaving him with a smile that tried its best to look calm but was undermined by the excited gleam in his dark eyes. “Keep it for as long as ya want, red eyes.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” The loon gave a softer smile, two sets of fingers in contrasting colors lacing and locking together as if it were their natural state.

Steelbeak, as well as many other individuals within FOWL, were well aware of Dominic’s “quirk”, as High Command liked to call it. After witnessing the loon lose it more than once on some poor, unsuspecting fool that made the innocent mistake of putting their hand on the touch-triggered bird the wrong way, the chief officer had made it a mental priority to always be mindful of his partner’s contact-based aggression and avoid touching him without warning, even after they’d started dating. He never made any “moves” on the darker fowl like he would with the girls he’d “dated” in the past- no sneaky arm finding its way around an unaware shoulder or waist, no sudden brush of fingers along the side of a striped neck, or even a suave attempt to steal a kiss. The rooster had a front-row seat to multiple showings of what the shorter man could do when someone didn’t properly respect his personal space, and he was determined to never be anything more than an observer if he could help it. He’d only taken what he was given and never even made a move to hold the aquatic avian’s hand.

While Dominic was definitely grateful for Steelbeak’s cautious-patience and respect for his boundaries, he felt the taller man fretted a bit too much about it from time to time. They’d been together for months now, seen each other through countless moments both life-threateningly dangerous and calmingly domestic. At this point, out of everyone in his life, his partner was the one person he felt the most confident that he wouldn’t hurt with one of his violent outbursts.

The discomfort would always be there in the back of his mind, Dominic knew this from the time he’d spent with his last partner and the others he’d dated before, but it was worth it for the warm feeling that bloomed within him. The contact was diluted by both of their gloves, allowing him to feel and familiarize himself with the sensation of Steelbeak’s palm and fingers against his own without letting the discomfort build up too much. He knew he would want more soon, and he could tell from the longing looks he’d caught when the rooster let his guard down from time to time that Steelbeak wanted it as well, but, right here, right now, it was enough for both of them to stand in the snow together with their fingers entwined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pair of snow-covered agents arrived back home just in the nick of time, giving themselves about fifteen minutes to change out of their winter attire, rid themselves of any traces of their pre-dawn excursion, and throw their usual coats on over top of more casual clothes to give off the image of readiness. They staged themselves in Steelbeak’s living room, acting like they were about to leave just in time for the communication screen to turn itself on.

“Chief Officer Steelbeak, Agent Domino.” The usual speaking member of High Command looked less than pleased. “There’s been a change of plans.”

Dominic, doing an excellent job of feigning ignorance, looked at his leader with a confused expression, one brow raised inquisitively. “Why? Did something happen to the device?” From the corner of his eye, he caught Steelbeak trying not to smirk and barely succeeding.

The silhouetted person shook his head with a scowl. “The Fearsome Four decided to bury the entire state in a snow storm. The mission is cancelled for now, but be ready in case the weather changes.”

Receiving a “Yes, sir” from both agents, the screen went dark once more.

Steelbeak gave his partner a knowing smirk. “Somethin’ tells me this storm ain’t stoppin’ for a while. How ‘bout we get nice an’ comfy ‘til then?”

Dominic gave a knowing smirk of his own. “Of course- we’ll need to save our strength for when it clears.”

There was a beat of silence before both of their expressions melted into amused grins and they laughed quietly over their flawless performance. The pair took off their coats and hung them on Steelbeak’s coat rack to enjoy their more comfortable attire- Dominic wearing a soft red turtleneck sweater and Steelbeak sporting a light grey long-sleeved Henley style shirt (again, who gets payed to pick these names?) with dark blue trim and a pair of slightly darker grey sweatpants.

Within half an hour they’d lit a fire in Steelbeak’s fireplace- Dominic withheld his remarks about how unnecessarily extravagant it was to have a fireplace in an apartment complex with fully functioning heat since, begrudgingly, he had to admit it was appropriately cozy on a day like this- and the loon was seated patiently in the same spot as last night while his partner brought him a more substantial breakfast than his earlier coffee.

As he waited, Dominic brought the tall mug in his hands to his lips and took a sip with a pleased hum. While it didn’t have the same kick as his previous drink, he wasn’t about to complain about the creamy hot chocolate Steelbeak had prepared for him- the kind made by pouring hot milk and cream over chocolate until it melted, not “that watered down powdered garbage” as the rooster would put it- especially not when he’d made him a peppermint one with red striped marshmallows. There were even bits of crushed candy cane coating the rim and a pair of full sized candy canes hanging from the edge. Picking one up by its crook, the content loon used the candy to briefly stir his drink and melt into it before popping it into his mouth and happily eating the remains.

Dominic had once mentioned to Steelbeak that candy canes were a preferred treat during winter when they’d been having a conversation about comfort food. The peppermint sticks were a childhood favorite- a preference that was quite fortunate since many places gave the sweet treats out for free once the “holiday spirit” began to spread, making it an easy to obtain a bit of food when his mother was unable to provide more than the bare minimum needed for the two of them to survive. His love for the striped sweets continued into adulthood, giving him a fondness for the simple candy whenever the season came about.

That bit of information had only been shared between the two once, but it was apparently enough for Steelbeak to plan ahead and keep a box of candy canes handy in his large pantry. He’d never admit he went out and purchased them simply because his partner liked them, though, even if he himself wasn’t as big of a fan of peppermint (that little prank on their first date probably didn’t help much).

This, Dominic had realized some time ago, was something Steelbeak did often- holding onto small, seemingly inconsequential bits of information and using them to surprise his partner later. Dominic mentions his favorite color while they’re making fun of a ridiculous fashion model show? He receives a new shirt in that color a few weeks later. Dominic makes a disgusted face and shudders upon seeing a cockroach while they’re in a warehouse? Steelbeak suddenly starts killing or removing any insects he sees when they’re together. Dominic mentions on their first date that he enjoys snow and ice skating? His partner pays supervillains to alter the weather and takes him out early to enjoy it properly.

It may have been an instinct developed after spending nearly two decades as a spy- information had value in their line of work, after all- or it may have simply been a trait unique to Steelbeak himself. Either way, Dominic found it extremely endearing and was grateful for his partner’s memory and small acts of care & consideration.

A plate fresh cinnamon rolls and blueberries being set on the coffee table in front of him brought Dominic’s gaze up to look at the very man who’d been occupying his thoughts.

Steelbeak, balancing a matching plate in one hand and a large mug of hot chocolate in the other, winked down at the loon as he set his own breakfast on the table near his end of the couch. “Told ya I had breakfast taken care of, Dom.”

“A good thing you did, too- I’m famished.” Dominic set his mug on the table and exchanged it for one of the enticingly large rolls on his plate. “I’ll pay you back by taking care of lunch.”

Steelbeak chuckled, knowing he wouldn’t win if he tried to argue. “Fine. But we split the difference at dinner. Deal?”

“Deal.” Dominic agreed with a quiet chuckle of his own before digging into his roll.

The pair sat and ate in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying their sweet treats and warm drinks in front of the crackling fire. Once they were finished, Dominic volunteered to take care of the dishes, despite Steelbeak’s adamant insistence that he didn’t need to- again, though, he knew he wouldn’t win once the other man stated he was going to take care of it.

When Dominic returned to the living room, he was surprised to see Steelbeak had wrapped himself in a large, heavily padded quilt in the time he’d been away. “Still feeling cold?”

“Kinda..” Steelbeak yawned and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, his legs drawn up under it as he sat curled up on the couch. “That an’ my adrenaline an’ coffee finally ran out…” Off-white fingers rubbed at extremely tired dark gray eyes. “Think I’m gonna be outta commission ‘til lunch…won’t hold it against ya if ya head back t’ your place.”

Dominic considered it for a moment, but eventually shook his head and picked up a book he’d left on one of Steelbeak’s end tables during his last visit. “I think I’ll stay.”

Steelbeak shrugged, settling in for a much needed nap. “Suit yourself, stripes..” His eyes were nearly closed when a weight against his side made them flutter open once more. “Hm..?”

Rather than take his usual spot at the opposite end of the couch, Dominic had opted to sit right next to Steelbeak- to the point where he was sitting sideways with his head reclined against the rooster’s blanket-covered shoulder and his legs were spread out over the empty cushions.

“Just getting comfortable.” Was the only explanation he needed to give.

Both men had soft, content smiles on their faces as they settled in for some much needed relaxation. They intended to enjoy their snow day as much as possible by doing as little as possible. After all, with this city’s unpredictable weather, who’s to say when they’ll get another chance?

Then again, Dominic thought as he opened his book to its marked page, perhaps the weather in St Canard wasn’t that bad.

End Notes: Hope you all enjoyed this wintery fun filled fic and have a happy holiday season =^.^=

[transformers-fan-continuities]

Spotlight: Rise of the Radiotrons

Here it is folks, the first fan canon spotlight, showcasing Rise of the Radiotrons created by sleeveev! You can find this over at @riseoftheradiotrons and also on AO3! This is a long post, fair warning.

Q) Give us a run down of your cont! What's it about, what's it called, what's it like?

the cont, despite being called Rise of the Radiotrons, revolves around five main groups of characters, and the mystery that accidentally intertwines all of them. a lot of false identities, undiscovered pasts, mystery that you need to read all the way through to really uncover. it also takes place during the attrition phase of the Autobot-Decepticon war, and Megatron and Optimus are... dead. but... weren't they made immortal by the Eternal Surge? where are they?

Q) What characters take the lead here? Any personal favorites?

characters that take the lead? hoo, boy, there's a lot. and be warned, this is OC-heavy. Wavecrash, Blackarachnia, Sparkplug, Pascal, and Ness make up the Earth detective team, the first to investigate the Radiotrons: Nanotube, Quicksilver, Greenscreen, and [REDACTED] (that is not their name, you will learn it later!).

Starscream, Moonkiller, and Pharma investigate a series of rust-related murders, later with the help of Eclipse and Terraform. the two they investigate? two hulking beings that carry a rust of sheer destruction of anything metal, Turbulence and someone known only as The Crimson Doctor. the third part is mostly with just a few characters. Dial-Up and Absolute Zero are in a cat-and-mouse chase, Dial-Up attempting to capture Absolute Zero and return him to the prison he escaped from. other 'bots come into this story, including Pylon, Airachnid, Suture, and Cyclonus, but they are not the main focus.

Turbulence.  this motherfucker. this moldy bitch.

my personal favorites? i love Sparkplug, i love my little gaming PC gal. The Crimson Doctor has also grown on me quite a bit. i'm gonna make fat robots and you can't stop me.

Sparkplug above, Crimson Doctor (Crim) below

Q) I love how he isn’t crimson at all.

oh you'll learn why he's crimson

Q) Ominous! Is there a bigger point to this, like a theme or some catharsis? Or is it just fluffy fun?

a bigger point to this? well, i have quite my fair share of trauma for being in a military family - being on the home front of a war i never even learned about until i was like 12. i wanted to show the horrors of attrition above all, because attrition is the part of war that everyone seems to forget, but is possibly the most dangerous part of it. everyone's killing each other over resources, dying of preventable diseases, resources are spread thin among soldiers and thinner among civilians. it also lets new, perhaps worse groups arise from the dust.

war was never about who was right. it was about who could live longer. and RotR, with its rampant killings that people can't even begin to investigate until their leaders are toppled from their thrones and complete anarchy reigns among military sites, is a testament to that.

war was the cause for part of the namesake of the Radiotrons themselves - the Great Radiation Crisis. war was where everything went wrong

Q) How long have you been working on it?

now, for the slightly less dark - it varies from character to character! while the official plot of RotR was established on August 25 this year, some 'bots go much further back - Pascal's earliest concepts were made on May 8, Nanotube's were made on April 25, and The Crimson Doctor's roots go as far back as a character called The Crimson-Eyed Doctor, a character created on Dec 11, 2019 (happy belated birthday, Crim!).

Q) You’re very meticulous with your dates!

i lose track of all time otherwise

Q) Give us a behind-the-scenes look! Show us a secret ;))

behind the scenes.

this is a mystery cont.

THERE'S A LOT BEHIND THE SCENES.

i will start with some no-context spoilers, here.

and, now for something a bit more genuinely secret.

whether this is a crimson doctor or a red herring, you decide.

Q) Where did you draw inspiration from? What canons, what other fiction, what parts of real life?

this varies from subtle to shameless.

my cont would fit best in an comic format, so it makes sense that i was inspired by IDW - and that it was my entry into the TF fandom! there is also some TFA bits in there, but the majority of it is personal robot worldbuilding, with a couple sprinkles of headcanons and OCs taken from Afterburn, a cont made by a longtime friend of mine.

other fiction i took inspiration from is mostly in the character designs. Blackarachnia was loosely inspired by Tawna from Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (you went through such a good revamp sweetie. neon lesbian.). if you can't tell that Turbulence took inspiration from Cioccolata from JJBA: Golden Wind, i don't know what to tell you. Crim took less inspiration from a character and more from a trope - the "ever-obedient villain subordinate". i just sucked all of the homoeroticism out of it, and also decided to give him more of a self than just someone who serves the villain.

here's Tawna (specifically Crash Bandicoot 4), one of the big inspirations for Blackarachnia's design! we don't talk about your past sweetie.

and Blackarachnia headshot to compare, because her fullbody is still in progress.

i am sharing this specific image of cio, one of turb's inspos, because i BASED A TURB PIECE OFF OF IT.

real life? RADIATION, RADIATION. i have radiation and radioactive things and the PERIODIC TABLE as a special interest and it SHOWS. it's all radiation. even the names. Quicksilver comes from mercury, Starborn comes from all elements being created from stars in space, Nanotube comes from carbon nanotubes, and [REDACTED] comes from... well, you don't know yet. there's also the whole attrition war thing, for real life inspiration, too.

Q) Show off something you're really proud of, a particular favorite part of your cont.

this piece of Eclipse and Turbulence('s hand), for one

(the image is at the end of the post under a readmore, as it contains eye trauma, eye touching, and roboblood)

and another thing i am particularly proud of are all my worldbuilding posts! they look like textbook entries kinda but i really really love em. here's one of them, though there are many more on the blog!

lastly, my favorite character introduction post. if you know Afterburn, you may be pleasantly surprised seeing this.

Q) Ah, that guy.

fun fact about RotR Absolute Zero! his color palette is taken from a diagram of a human heart. here is the motherfucker in question,

Q) What other fan canons do you love and why? Would you like to see them interviewed?

Afterburn. my best friend made this i can't just NOT advertise it. go look at it there's murderers and there's an OC that's actually very inspired by not one but two of my creations (the original OC he was a fanformer of, and his altmode - I'd had thoughts of various greenhouse 'bots like that). @transformersafterburn​. please don't simp for Abzero. or maybe do. he's a better option than Turbulence.

Mirror Mirror. found at @transformers-mirror-mirror​, it's got so many epic character designs and realistically sized altmodes despite not having realistically sized altmodes this makes me go happy flappy and is also inspiring a future project of mine, also Shattered Glass!

NEW PRIMES OF CYBERTRON. RITO I LOVE YOUR CONT SO MUCH. i summed it up in "transformers ungunned" but THERE IS MUCH MORE GO CHECK IT OUT AFTER YOU FINISH READING THIS INTERVIEW @thenamesblurrito​

Q) [insert flattered keysmashing from me, creator of New Primes of Cybertron, otherwise known as TF:SNAP]

Thank you very much veev! Everyone go check out Rise of the Radiotrons! Stay tuned for next week, when we’ll get to see some Shattered Glass...

(aforementioned image under the cut, warning for eye trauma, eye touching, and roboblood)

[pandapupremade]

Out of Time

THANK YOU @7h3hy8r1d​ FOR SENDING THIS IN i made it MUCH MUCH longer than I should’ve and i didnt proofread but...here it is.

WORDS: 1,936

CONTENT WARNINGS: Mentions of death, injury, blood, choking, basically its a lot of action fighting scenes and angst and me trying to fit something self indulgent into a canon scene.

SHIP: Jeice x Tomae (self insert)

   The Grand Elder had died, and with the Dragon Balls turned to stone behind them because of his demise, the scene was dire. Freeza's long, alien tail thumped and swayed in furious irritation as he greeted the Z fighters from above, standing on a tall rock formation. His expression was a cold and empty smile.

    "Now look what you've done," He spoke softly, but with an air of danger, "You've destroyed my dream of immortality..." His eyes trailed over Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta, and the little Namekian known as Dende. All but Vegeta would flinch at this. Still, he paused.

    "Mmh, and I see there's no trace of the Ginyu Force...Did you destroy them? My goodness, you are industrious little tykes, aren't you...? And now even the Dragon Balls are useless..." The corners of his mouth twitched downward. "My one great desire is lost to me..."

   Hopping down from the rock, he was now level with the four individuals. His smile was still there for a moment longer as he said, "Never, ever before has anyone made such a fool of Freeza..." And then, a scowl replaced his blankly polite stare. "Curse you all..."

   As the land began trembling under his powerful rage, he shouted now. "You despicable maggots! I'll torture you to death, inch by bloody inch...!!" In response Gohan and Krillin leapt back in separate directions, staring with pure terror. Vegeta seemed nervous, but nowhere to the same extent...

    Was it over for them?

........

    A bit away, a saiyan stared at the sky from within Freezas broken spaceship. Said spaceship had been damaged from Vegeta's earlier rampage, but still functioned as a temporary base. More importantly, the sky had gone dark for a few minutes...

     But as this planet had three suns...

   "What was that?" The saiyan asked, glancing back at his companion, an injured red alien with puffy white hair. "An...an eclipse, maybe?"

     "I doubt it, mate..." The ex-Ginyu Force fighter replied weakly, clutching his wounded side. "Nghh...!"

      Tomae gasped and rushed to be knelt beside him now. "Jeice! A...Are you okay?!"

      "She'll be right...I've dealt with worse, yeah?" He gave a soft smirk. But it vanished within seconds, and he winced. "But...We oughta get out of here, Tomae..."

      "...Jeice, y-you know, why don't we get you into a -"

      "All the healing pods are wrecked, thanks to Vegeta..." Jeice shook his head, "There's one - an older model - but those bloomin' Earthlings put one of their own in there. Goku, I think his name was..."

       "W-well, then I need to find you bandages..." Tomae's voice cracked, and he paused as Jeice's gloved hand touched his face.

     "...Like I said, it'll be fine." The fighter's voice was softer now.

     Tomae's eyes watered, and he pressed the hand against his cheek. Gloves or not, the touch was gentle. "....If you say so..."

     It hadn't been easy to rescue Jeice this far. Vegeta had only let Tomae rescue the alien because of a debt that needed repaying from long ago...If it hadn't been for that, then Jeice would've....He wouldn't be here right now.

     Some silence passed, and Tomae's eyes eventually fluttered open again. "Jeice..."

     "Hm?"

     "I....I want to help them."

     Jeice stared. "Help who? Hold it, you don't mean...."

     "...I do."

      Tomae began to stand, but Jeice grabbed onto him. "T-Tomae, you..."

      "I know your orders were to destroy the Earthlings, Jeice, but...I think they're onto something. I don't think we should be listening to Lord Freeza."

      Jeice stared, his expression becoming slowly more horrified. "T-Tomae, what're you going on about? We've served Lord Freeza for years, I...You can't turn on him!"

      "...Vegeta did."

     "Yeah, fat load of good it did the crazy bloke. He's probably dead now, you know?!"

      "...I don't think so. I think Freeza would be back by now if he'd killed them already..." Tomae shook his head, and pulled free of Jeice's grip. "I came here to rescue you, but if I can do a bit more, then I-"

     "Then you'll throw away the first thing you came here for? C-C'mon, Tomae, stop talkin' like this...We gotta escape while we can..."

     "....Yes, you do." Tomae didn't look at him. "I want you to use your pod to get out of here."

    "....W-what?"

     "Please. Go to whatever planet you want, but just...Get out of here."

    "Tomae..."

    A moment of nothing but tension would come now. Tomae trembled slightly, his fingers clenched into fists. His tail was wrapped firmly around his waist, and even that looked like it was twitching in anxiety. Jeice stared, eyes wide, at the Saiyan he cared so much about...

     "....Fine."

     Tomae jolted. He looked over his shoulder at his boyfriend, who was beginning to stand up. "What? A-ah, be careful..."

     "We're partners, right?" Jeice extended his hand. "You may be doin' somethin' stupid, but I won't leave you behind."

      Tomae hesitated....Then began to cry again. Rather than take the hand extended, he threw himself into Jeice's arms. The red alien almost fell over, but managed to muster enough strength not to.

........

      Freeza's final form, a sleek white-and-purple design, had come to fruition by this point, and his tail was wrapped around Vegeta's throat. Piccolo had joined the battle, Krillin and Gohan had almost been killed multiple times...And the life of Dende had been lost.

     "By the way," hummed Freeza sadistically, looking to the three he wasn't currently crushing. "You can help him whenever you feel like it..."

    And then a flash of light was seen as a blast was fired at the tyrant. Freeza simply sidestepped it, but seemed surprised by it. "My, my, has someone else come to join the party? But where...?" His eyes scanned the scene, then landed on a patch of sky.

    "...Ah, another monkey."

     Tomae landed on the ground nearby. "...Well you've been busy, Lord Freeza..."

     "Indeed. I grow weary of this whole rebellious primate thing, though..." He shook his head. "You're not even a warrior, and you still intend to fight me..."

    "T...To...." Vegeta choked out, though Freeza's tail's grip tighrened and silenced him once more.

    "Who...?" Piccolo seemed to be asking Gohan and Krillin for explanation. "Is that another Saiyan?"

    "Y-yeah...." Gohan gulped, "He...He showed up earlier, but..."

     "G-gah!!" Krillin suddenly exclaimed, "It's that...That one guy..."

     Indeed, Jeice hovered above, slowly coming to stand by Tomae. Freeza stared blankly for a bit, then pursed his lips.

     "Now this...This is the surprise of the century. A soldier handpicked by my father to serve me has joined the revolution as well?" He gave a light, but sick chuckle. "...I suppose you really can't trust anyone but yourself these days, hm?"

    "It's over, Lord Freeza..." Jeice spoke,  "Not even your men are willing to follow you..."

    "Yes, well...You speak with such confidence, but you're starting this off clutching your side..." Freeza sighed, "How annoying. Who else is going to show up and be a bothersome pest? My brother Cooler, perhaps? Father himself?"

    "Shut up." Tomae's eyes narrowed. "I'm not serving you anymore."

    "I gathered as much. Still, such a fiesty attitude..." Freeza lifted his hand, not even putting Vegeta down. "However...I need only a finger to defeat you two."

     "W...WATCH OUT!" cried Gohan suddenly, voice cracking, but the light at Freeza's fingertips was already forming.

    Tomae knew going into this he'd die. He knew he'd never be able to actually help, but it felt wrong to run. But he knew he would die, and knew there was no hope to even avoid this shot...Jeice knew all this as well.

    So he took matters into his own hands.

    Pushing Tomae out of the way with barely enough time to dodge himself, Jeice leapt up to the sky. Tomae gasped, hitting the ground with a thud, and looked up at where the wounded warrior was now flying. "J-Jeice...!"

     Jeice grinned. Moving his hand from his side, he lifted it into the air instead. "Oi! You're messin' with a member of the Ginyu Force, mate!"

     Freeza looked ever so slightly stunned, but it quickly faded to frustration. Throwing Vegeta's limp and barely conscious body to the size, he turned to look up as well. "Ex-Ginyu...But I see you still have some spunk...I'll have to rip it out of you, along with the rest of your hopes and dreams!"

       Jeice's hand began to glow. A large ball of energy was forming. "CRUUUUSSHEEEERRRRRRRRRR........................." He yelled, "BAAAAAAALL!!!" And with that, he threw it at Freeza.

     Piccolo grabbed Gohan and Krillin and ducked out of the way as it headed towards the platform. As it neared him, the space tyrant gazed blankly and...smacked it to the side with a flick of the wrist.

    It flew far, blowing up a nearby island instead.

     Tomae didn't waste a moment, though. He managed, somehow, to appear next to Freeza, and swung his leg. The tyrant grabbed the Saiyan's ankle and tossed him to the ground. "Honestly, how many of you are going to die before you realize you don't have a prayer?" Freeza growled.

     And he kicked Tomae, whose wind was immediately knocked out of him. "T-Tomae!" came Jeice's voice.

    "You know, Jeice..." Freeza murmured, "I never understood your appeal towards this rotten ape...I tolerated him for you, but...Really, what good has he ever been?"

   "St-stop...." Teary, Tomae tried to get up, but Freeza's clawed feet slammed into his chest and kept him still.

   "What good has ANY of these monkeys been, in fact?" Freeza's eyes narrowed, "They've been nothing but disgusting beasts..."

   Jeice trembled above. "L-Lord Freeza...! St-stop...Stop, you're hurting him!"

    "You see now? Nothing ever comes of making me angry...Nothing ever comes of playing the hero. Why don't you come down and help take care of the smaller pests, Jeice? Perhaps I'll kill you less painfully, if you choose to use your final moments to help me."

    Jeice stared. Jeice's fists clenched, but his wound had lost a lot of blood and he was scared. Goddamn, was he scared...Tears began to form in his eyes, and he lowered himself from the sky slowly. "I said to stop, you bloody bastard..."

     "What a shame...You were always spoken so highly of by Captain Ginyu..."

     Captain Ginyu. Jeice's hands fell to his sides. Guldo. Recoome...Even Burter had given his life to serve Freeza. Burter, his best friend, was probably rolling in whatever grave he had, at Jeice's mutinous actions...

    ....Burter, who'd died before Jeice's very eyes.

     Was he going to let Tomae suffer the same fate as his best friend? Tomae, his own boyfriend.

   No.

    Without another thought, Jeice attacked. He had no form, he had no patience, so he was bound to lose even with this. But he refused to give up. He punched and punched at Freeza's ugly mug like there was no tomorrow.

    He fought valiantly, and while he didn't land a hit, he distracted Freeza long enough for Tomae to get a break. For Tomae to catch a breather.

     For Tomae to stand.

     "H-hey, you shouldn't push yourself..." began Gohan, who rushed over to show sympathy for the Saiyan, but Tomae ignored him, and used a jump to propel off of the Namekian grass. "A-ah...W-wait!"

     "Let him go, Gohan...." Piccolo said quietly, grabbing the boy's arm and looking up at the fight. "...They're doing this for reasons that have nothing to do with us. If that involves throwing their lives away, then we can't stop them."

     "Still, it's...It's insane...." Krillin muttered, "But....we're out of time, and out of options."

    They really could only hope for Goku to arrive at this point, but if these ex-Freeza soldiers wanted to do their part to give them some extra life...Guess they could only let that happen.

[thedistantstorm]

Keep On Rising (Until The Sky Knows Your Name) 19

Found Family | Zavala is Tower Dad | Father-Daughter Relationship | Childhood Trauma and Recovery | Canon-Typical Violence | Amputation

A story about how an orphaned Amanda Holliday comes to belong in the Last Safe City and the family she finds along the way.

(Or, the story of how Commander Zavala finds himself responsible for one Amanda Holliday.)

Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 [end]

This time: A new beginning.

-/

They are an inconspicuous combination, the Commander in slacks and a tunic, scarf over his head in accordance with city fashion, and the child in a t-shirt with matching sweatpants - something comfortable enough to move in, picked by Eva. Instead of his usual gait, Zavala walks far slower, knowing it would take three steps with her crutches to match his usual pace.

"The terrain changes ahead," He informs her in his calmest of tones. "The brick will be uneven. Let me know if you need a break."

She hums her acknowledgement, focused on getting herself to make as far as she can on foot, and Zavala, though noticing her discomfort, knows this is a lesson she’ll learn the hard way. When he sees the crutches quake he pauses, watching her wince as she continues, stubborn.

"We still have a bit to go," He tells her.

Ignoring that, he watches her take another handful of steps, stumble, and moves to save her from the pavement. If it were grass, and she were a bit more recovered, he’d have let her fall, but he does not want to take the chance with her so close to being cleared to come home. Shiori makes the child-sized crutches disappear before they hit the ground. The therapists had warned him before clearing her to go on this afternoon trip - a trial run, they called it - that she did not know her limitations, or if she did, she was purposefully ignoring them in lieu of pushing herself.

She sighs into his shirt, angry.

"You'll likely have blisters on your arms."

"Yeah," She grumbles.

"Part of recovering is learning your limits and respecting them," He advises, far more incognito with a child on his hip than walking beside her. It's clear she's frustrated with herself, though she eventually releases her tight grip on his clothes and rests her head against his shoulder. "You will learn when to push, and when to ease back. It will take time."

"'m not real patient," She admits in another exasperated huff.

He chuckles, smooth and low against her hair. "No, you're not," He agrees.

Zavala almost expects that she's fallen asleep after a few minutes of carrying her; he can feel her slight weight incrementally increase. Instead, she's simply relaxed, looking out at the Traveler looming in the distance where the sky meets the walls and the City. He turns, noticing when she starts craning her neck.

She drawls, "Can we watch the ships a while?"

Indulgently, he hums into her hair, "You are not in pain right now?"

"A li'l," She supposes. "But I'm usually sore."

 "We'll go the long way back," He decides, a compromise for them both.

"Y'don' mind?" She asks, bashful, resting her head on his shoulder once more.

"I don't get outside much," He admits. "I think we could both stand to see the sky."

It is strange to be in the Tower without being in full armor, or in charge of one small child instead of the entirety of its affairs. He feels almost like a voyeur, watching Guardians run about around the small influx of civilians who sell their wares or have a food-stand nearby.

It feels even stranger when a shadow looms over them from behind, eclipsing Zavala completely. Amanda curls into him, fight or flight senses triggered into something more like a freeze when her new guardian stops walking. He puts a hand on her crown, silently willing her to believe her that all is well before turning back toward his fellow Titan, careful to lead with the hip opposite the one he is carrying her on.

"Step back, Shaxx."

The shadow recedes. "You know word travels," He informs Zavala loudly. "Though half these miscreants wouldn't give you a second glance without the regalia."

Zavala releases Amanda's head, though he lowers his hand to her back. He can feel her heart thundering through the back of her ribcage. "That's the point," He tells the armor-wearing Crucible handler. "Is there something you need?"

"Not at all," He says. "Is this the girl?"

Said girl is clearly shy, wrapping her arms around Zavala's neck, breathing harshly against his collar. "Amanda, this is Shaxx."

She murmurs to Zavala, wary, "He's big," And Shaxx laughs, hearty and boisterous.

"He will not hurt you. He's a Guardian, too. And an old friend."

That spurs Amanda to act. The mop of blonde hair moves, the child leaning up and away from Zavala, brave but not about to let go. "Hi," She greets, looking up into an impassive helm.

Shaxx tilts his head. "Hello, Amanda," He returns, hands on his hips, loud enough that it forces a tremor through the girl. 

"Can he not hear very good? People yell when they have trouble hearing," She asks Zavala, not quite whispering herself.

Zavala laughs, carefully readjusting his hold on her. "No, Amanda, his hearing is perfectly fine. His listening skills are another thing entirely," He deadpans, quirking an eyebrow with a little dip of his eyes to the top of the child’s head. A reminder not to say anything inappropriate for little ears.

Amanda giggles at that, girlish and unbidden. It sounds like something the Matrons would say.

The one-horned Titan tilts his head to the side. "Oh, this is trouble," He says, but there's no malice in his tone, only glee. "You understand his sense of humor."

"Do people not?" Amanda's nose scrunches up in her confusion. "He's funny."

Shaxx chuckles. "Most, sadly, do not. But you are not most." He eyes the duo carefully - more enthusiastic than anything - before stepping back and waving toward the hall of Guardians. Of course, Zavala thinks. The Crucible could not go more than a match without him. “It was a pleasure meeting you, little lion,” Shaxx says to the child. “Make sure he brings you around.”

“Why a lion?” Amanda asks.

Shiori flits into the space in front of them. “That sentimental beast,” She chirps sharply, but it sounds more affectionate than anything. “A lion is-”

Zavala shakes his head. “She’ll figure it out on her own.”

-/

Just shy of two months to the day of the incident, Amanda is discharged from the hospital. She has a wealth of plans and treatments - almost as many as Zavala himself has meetings and engagements of his own. Recovery will be hard work. Supporting her in it, just as much. No matter. Zavala is committed to this. He will not shy away from his duty, both to the City and to his ward.

She refuses the wheelchair outright, intent on making it out of the hospital on crutches. Zavala appreciates her spirit and especially praises her for asking for help, a block later, when the walking becomes just a bit too much. She’s a quick learner, though he will have to watch. He does not want his every word to be law, well meaning though he is. She should learn and make her own decisions, to some extent.

"Home sweet home," Shiori calls as Zavala closes the door and lets it lock behind them. She transmats the tiny crutches back into being, propping them against the couch in a flicker of Light. 

"Yeah," The child says thickly in reply, allowing Zavala to set her down and hand them to her one at a time.

"Let's have a look around, hm?"

She nods. Zavala shows her the kitchen stocked with food - her tummy rumbles at the sight and she flushes, the little nook that was a dining area but has now become an office, the living room that houses a comfortable couch, modest screen and his knitting supplies in the corner. The washroom is next, down the hall, followed by a room he skips in lieu of showing her his own: full of deep, dark, soothing blues and yet spartan, save for a bookshelf.

Lastly, he lets her into her own room, lingering in the doorway when she carefully hobbles in.

Eva has outdone herself, it's clear by the awed expression Amanda wears, the tightness of her shoulders as she comes into the room. The once bare walls have pictures of different class ships with stylized shaders, the bed a subtle compliment with its themed sheets and comforter. Across the bottom half of the bed is her freshly laundered red blanket, ready and waiting for use.

"Do you like it?" He can't help but ask.

The girl takes a deep breath, hinging on a sob. "It's real nice," She says, overwhelmed. "Thank you."

"I would not thank me," He tells her, placing a palm between her shoulder blades to steady her. "My sense of style is a bit more minimalistic, as I'm sure you can tell. Eva had a field day designing this."

"Will she come 'n visit?” She asks, voice thick and eyes watery. “I gotta thank her, too, then."

"Don't worry. You will see her plenty. Why don't you investigate your desk and dresser? Eva guessed at much of it, but anything you need, we'll figure out together."

Together. Amanda likes the sound of that.

end.

. . .

. .

.

-/

PS: be on the look out for the sequel for this next month (Nov. 2019)! Thanks so much for reading!

[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Hi, I've decided to make Mowgli's wolf parents their own characters, named Nisha and Vihaan, with Akela as the leader and grandfatherly mentor to Mowgli. Are their any sequels you think are better than the first movie? For me, All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 is much better that the original. Are their any relationships in Trollhunters that you feel could've been explored, ie, Claire and Draal? And how would you have done Troll!Jim and the final battle with Gunmar?-The Sapphire One.

I’m happy for you, making so much progress on your fanfic.

I would prefer if, in the future, you directed any further requests for advice on your Jungle Book fic to someone who is actually in the Jungle Book fandom, though? I’ve been trying to be courteous and supportive, but it’s getting exhausting to devote so much mental and emotional energy to determining, “what can I say that is helpful but also gently conveys I am not interested in discussing this topic further?”, especially since I don’t seem to be successfully conveying the ‘polite disinterest’ part.

When I have said, repeatedly, that I am not invested in The Jungle Book, what I mean is that it’s an okay story and I have nothing in particular against it, but it is not a fandom that I am in, and therefore fanfiction for it is not fanfiction I am inclined to read or discuss. I would rather devote my time and energy to stories and fandoms in which I do have an emotional investment.

I wish you good fortune in continuing this project and hope it finds the audience it deserves on whichever platform you choose to share it.

+=+

The All Dogs Go To Heaven duo is a neat one because each movie appeals to me in different ways.

The sequel had stronger music. “Let Me Be Surprised”and “It’s Too Heavenly Here” convey the same ideas, but “It’s Too Heavenly Here” has a lot more energy, possibly because Charlie’s had more time to go stir-crazy.

I respect the first one for not shoehorning in a romantic subplot with all the other plot lines they were already working with, but I respect the second one for introducing new elements a bit more cohesively - I mean, the alligator in the first one basically showed up out of nowhere. He did eat Carface in the end, so he was plot-significant, but he was still really jarring - so jarring a whole trope got named after the Big-Lipped Alligator Moment.

The timeline between movies is a bit confusing? I think the first one is set in the 1920s, or maybe the 50s. I’m basing this on partially car designs but cutting out the 10s, 30s, and 40s due to lack of mention of the Great Depression or either World War. But the second one, based on the humans’ clothing, looks like it’s in the 1980s, maybe 90s? So, unless dogs have a natural lifespan similar to a human one in this universe, it’s weird that the second movie starts when Itchy dies. (He’s be thirty, or seventy, depending on which of my time period guesses are right.) I guess there could also be a long time-skip between “It’s Too Heavenly Here” and Carface stealing Gabriel’s horn.

Overall I’ve found movie sequels tend to be lesser than or equal to the original movie. Shrek 2, for example, was really good, but I wouldn’t say it was better than Shrek.

Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time was exceptional, with how the writer’s took advantage of the opportunity to expand on the prince’s character - although he still doesn’t get a name - and Cinderella’s character as well, along with the different specific reasons her stepfamily was jealous and vengeful. (Lady Tremaine wanted the social status, Drizella wanted wealth, and Anastasia wanted emotional security.)

TV series, on the other hand, are often a bit stronger in their second season than the first, because they don’t have to introduce how the setting’s culture or magic/high tech system works unless something new is happening, and likewise they don’t have to introduce new characters every episode or two in order to build the initial main cast, and the main themes and conflicts of the series have been set up.

+=+

Draal’s relationships with everybody could have been expanded on. We don’t really see relationship development between him and anyone else other than Jim and Kanjigar’s ghost. There are some minor scenes showing him getting closer with AAARRRGGHH and Blinky, too, but that got cut off by Draal getting brainwashed before the audience got to see much of it.

You know who else didn’t get many relationships developed? Barbara.

There is exactly one scene, a one-sided phone conversation in Season 3, which implies she has a social life. Also, what is the relationship between her and Nana Domzalski? Jim and Toby are close, and their families live across the street, and Barbara addresses her as Nana, so clearly they’ve met, and yet Barbara never spoke to Nana on-camera in Season 1 about her concerns after Jim and Toby got arrested together and Jim started ‘acting different’?

And furthermore [insert rant about how Stricklake was fumbled in Season 3].

… Not to mention Blinky! She’s friendly with him when he gets turned human and Jim passes him off as a guidance counselor, but their very limited interactions do not explain why she was willing to let Jim go off to New Jersey with the trolls and didn’t even suggest she come along, basically temporarily turning custody of Jim over to Blinky when Barbara and Blinky have had all of one on-screen conversation since she got her memories back.

+=+

Okay, final battle redo, gotta keep Jim a troll …

First of all, Troll!Jim is a klutz. He just went through a massive growth spurt and hasn’t had time to adjust yet. It is acknowledged by him and others (though probably not Merlin), “Wow, this was a really bad idea to do right before getting into a fight, Jim is nearly back to beginner skill-level. At least he’s fast and therefore better at dodging, and can take a hit better.”

Alternately, shuffle everything around so that Jim turns into a troll by S3E6, so the audience has half the season to get used to him, because I think having Jim get trolled right before the final battle is one of the reasons Troll!Jim ended up being such a controversial character.

Either way, the Trollhunters fight Gunmar as a group.

Gunmar is facing Jim. Toby, using the Warhammer to fly, sneaks up behind Gunmar and hits him over the head. Gunmar reaches for Toby, but Blinky throws a dwarkstone in Gunmar’s face, and AAARRRGGHH charges in (possibly via portal so Gunmar won’t see him coming) and punches Gunmar in the gut. The combination of explosion and punch forces Gunmar to drop his sword, and Jim grabs it.

Jim, wearing the Eclipse armour, discovers he is able to hold the Decimaar Blade. (It is implied by how Gunmar conjures it that Decimaar is magically bound to the Gumm-Gumm warlord in a similar way to how Daylight is tied to the Trollhunter, so this might surprise Jim. At the very least, AAARRRGGHH should look surprised.)

Gunmar is distracted by Claire, who portals Blinky out of the way of an attack. Gunmar has seen Claire before, when Morgana agreed to help bring about the Eternal Night. “Morgana’s child …” He is confused and suspicious to see her on the Trollhunters’ side.

Toby swoops Jim above Gunmar and Jim drops down, doing that diagonal swiping attack but with the Decimaar Blade instead of Eclipse, and striking from behind. Gunmar doesn’t turn to stone right away - he turns and starts charging at Jim, who conjures the Eclipse sword stabbed into Gunmar’s chest, like how Jim stabbed Gladys and Bular with Daylight in Season 1.

Gunmar turns to stone and crumbles. Decimaar is still there. The blade’s highlights are blue again instead of gold. Jim picks it up and his eyes glow blue. The other Trollhunters exchange worried looks.

“Jimbo?”

“Master Jim?”

Jim sends out a blast of blue lightning-looking energy from the sword, like the red stuff that happened in the show when Gunmar died, except instead of exploding the Gumm-Gumms it un-brainwashes them. He then drops the sword and collapses. His friends rush to him. (He’s fine, just exhausted. Jim isn’t used to doing magic.)

Angor Rot wasn’t there when Jim and Gunmar started fighting. He saw Strickler and went off to kill him, as revenge for the magical enslavement in the second half of Season 1. Angor changes his mind when he sees Strickler get injured fighting a Gumm-Gumm to protect some humans who haven’t gotten to shelter yet, which prompts a flashback to Angor’s time as a hero. Angor goes off again, this time to hunt down Morgana, nonchalantly killing any Gumm-Gumms who cross his path on the way. (At this point, Angor may still want Strickler dead, but he’s willing to wait to kill him until after the Gumm-Gumms are defeated.)

The thing with Morgana happens like it did in canon except Angor gets thrown back instead of exploded.

Draal is with Nomura and Strickler protecting the civilians from the Gumm-Gumms, or possibly he did die because Draal would have smashed down that bathroom door in negative five seconds and stopped Jim using the potion. If he did die, they revive him later with the Creeper’s Sun antidote.

[starheirxero]

a few quick questions about your lord eclipse au and of him.

1: does he have a full body reference and a color one? colors can just be named where they go on the body.

2: for at least one hallway from his castle like the vrchat one but modified for your Eclipse, you have a reference for how it'd look? how long is one that he could run in be? what decorations would it have?

3: for our Moon, since I want to try drawing this scene. do you have your own design for him when he visited or would any moon design work?

that's all and I hope you have a good night or day!

1) HEAD IN HANDS EMBARRASSED STYLE. He does not have a ref of any kind yet!! :( Deirunn asked me about a full body ref several months back too and I've tried to make a few but I end up overwhelmed 💔 I could see if I could get out a very simplified and basic ref tho!! All I know for sure is that the star, the smaller rays, and his pupil are white while his cape is an off-white of some sort at the fluff and red at the actual fabric!

2) I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BEFORE ACTUALLY!!!! I don't know where in the castle would be or if it even could fit in it, but I daydream a lot about Centiclipse chasing Moon down a sort of... judgement hall-like area?? like from undertale. Just, like, a bit thinner and without the pillars. One side of the wall has stained glass windows are lined with depictions of Lord Eclipse doing good for his followers and condemning certain people etc etc all that good stuff, while the other side of the wall has just random miscellaneous doors to unimportant rooms.

It is just long enough for Lord Eclipse's entire body to fit in if he maybe curled the lil centipede tail a bit. for decorations, it'd just generally be sort of... spikey? lots of triangles meant to mimic his rays. maybe some swirls just to spice things up. obvious celestial themes with an emphasis on the moon blotting out the sun n all that. in my mind, there's always a pretty heavy yellow color scheme, but there'd realistically probably be more red and black too LOL

3) Any Moon works tbh!! I don't have any sort of "tsams moon" design at all really, so I just kinda draw a canon-typical Moon and call it a day, so go ham LOL

[smilingperformer]

SM073 - Thoughts

I think I’ve calmed down from Friday enough to write this now... let’s see. I’m not sure you guys even need me talking about this episode. It was so good!

It is finally time for Rocket Gang to go get themselves their very own Z-Ring! I’ve been waiting for this ever since I started watching this series almost a year ago now, and I was so god damn happy to finally see it happening. This also marks the start of Ula’Ula Island Arc, and I found it brilliant to start with Rocket Gang instead of Satoshi. Who, btw, is absent until the very last 10 seconds of the episode! This hasn’t happened since Diamond & Pearl’s first episode, if I remember correctly.

(This post is getting so god damn long because there’s lots to discuss so, I’m actually gonna put a cut here! To save your dashboards from this freaking long post! I hope it works for mobile people as well, if not, I apologize. I think I’ll continue on doing this in the future as well!)

Anyway, they head to Ula’Ula Island in search of Island King/Kahuna Kuchinashi/Nanu, who appears to be old acquitances with Rocket Gang Boss Sakaki/Giovanni. This is a detail I didn’t expect to be canon in Pokeani until the news hit, and I’m looking forward to learning more about this! Sakaki told the Trio (and Sonansu :D C’mon, it’s how Narrator said it) that they might be able to get a Z-ring from him, which prompted them to go on the Air Balloon ride. Which hasn’t appeared in Sun & Moon after it’s very early appearance in episode SM005! Great to see them still having it! (They did reference it in last episode so I guess it was expected!)

We then cut to a local Island Library to get us introduced to the character a lot of people had been waiting for to appear: Meet Acerola! She’s shown to be working at the said Library, and starts reading a book about the Greedy Lapoo to two young kids, who, according to VA cast list, are called Nene and Piko.

I must say, I love the designs of these two, and even if they seem to end up being CotD types, I’ll most likely be enjoying whatever screentime they’ll give us of them.

But, this scene also serves as a plot element teller as well, in addition to introducing these three characters to the story. In short, it’s a story about a ghost that stole people’s items, who then ended up being hated by people, because of it’s greedy nature. Thus, the name the Greedy Lapoo. It was then sealed away by a local Island King, and was never heard of again.

Anyway, we cut back to Rocket Gang, who are preparing to make good first impression with the Island King with some Malasadas. They get their disguises on because of the place they’re heading to being a Police Station, and when they get inside, oooooh boooyy. It’s what we’d expect from Ula’Ula Police Station.

It’s filled with dozens of Alolan Nyarths! Talk about over-kill. And they all get their eyes on one thing: the Malasada. Poor Rocket Gang.

That’s when we get to see the Island King thou! Meet Kuchinashi/Nanu! Or well. We know he’s the guy, but our dear buffoons don’t. So when they ask to see the Island King, well... you know what happens. I made a huge screencap post on it, but to put it short: he outright lied to them that Island King is away and may not be coming back for possibly a year! What a jackass! But I already fell in love with his characterisation at this point, so full points on perfect introduction. He clearly likes to avoid his Island King/Kahuna duties, which fits the game profile as well.

So, Rocket Gang loses all hope and head off. We then cut back to Acerola and co., who have finished reading the book, and decide to head to the tomb stone that is said to be the fairy tale’s Greedy Lapoo’s. However, Rocket Gang has decided to mourn their bad luck at the very same place, and when Musashi loses her temper and breaks the tomb...

Meet The Greedy Lapoo the Gengar! The fairy tale turned out to be true, and the Island King’s seal on the ghost is now broken. Way to go Musashi! Thou, tbf, she had no idea of such tale. I originally though it’d be a Totem Gengar, but then I realised that there’s no such thing in the games, so it’s probably something else that makes it so much bigger. Pokeani can do some interesting stuff with the Pokemon Universe anyway!

Anyway, Gengar steals Rocket Gang’s Dark Z-crystal, and then heads to Acerola and co, who had just arrived to the place. While the two kids are scared as hell, Acerola shows that she’s not.

I just noticed I’m rambling about all episode details again, but it’s hard not to. New characters were introduced, and as a huge fan of Acerola, I was stoked when this episode had so much focus on her! it’s great! Anyway, she gets kidnapped by the Gengar, who then proceeds to go steal stuff from random people around the Island. Acerola’s Mimikyu, who she calls Mimi-tan, tries to rescue her, but to no avail.

Mimi-tan gets thrown into air by Gengar, and while falling, Acerola jumps to catch it. Why thou?! I haven’t said it yet, because it’s actually revealed at the end of the episode, but Acerola’s Mimi-tan is an actual Ghost of a Mimikyu. So it wouldn’t really get hurt, would it? Then again, this is the first time Pokeani explores actual ghost pokemon, so there’s much we don’t know. We might learn more during this arc thou! I certainly hope so!

But y’know, this is where we start to see the good side of the Greedy Lapoo Gengar. It shows to be worried about Acerola after her fall, and when Acerola shows it she’s fine, he’s quite happy! Turns out, Gengar very much likes Acerola, and when Acerola tries to tell him to take her back home, he selfishly refuses, and tries to convince her to stay. When Acerola keeps on denying it thou, even when gengar shows the Dark Z-crystal that it stole from Rocket Gang, Gengar loses it. This is where I’m actually kinda spooked.

WHAT IS IT DOING??? Trying to put Acerola inside it? How rude is that??? Mimi-tan is unable to do anything, oh boy am I proud of the following moment:

Musashi came in and actually saved Acerola! Considering her dialogue earlier about how she can’t stand Gengar being so selfish with his liking to Acerola, I want to believe she actually did this to both save Acerola, and get the Z-crystal back. And it was really well done! Kinda reminded me of Satoshi and Pikachu thou lol. The pararrels between Satoshi and Musashi are increasing! They then mock the poor Gengar in hilarious ways, seriously, Rocket Gang’s writing in this episode is top notch and I have never loved them more in an episode.

Gengar then starts chasing after fleeing Rocket Gang (which actually seems like a lure plan???) and when Nyarth tries to counter-attack, Gengar possesses him. Spooky stuff. Musashi quickly orders Mimikyu to do something, who uses Wood Hammer on Nyarth. Ouch. Musashi cares for Nyarth, but she’s always been rough on rescue plans.

But then Gengar posseses her! And this honestly looks sort of scary at this screenshot. It kinda reminds me of a certain ghosts from Sonic Adventure 2 thou... : D Kojiro is shown shook, and he definitely doesn’t do hasty moves when it comes to rescuing Musashi. This is definitely something Satoshi’d do as well, and god damn it. Kojiro does come up with a perfect plan, and it shows how good of a trainer he is: Hidoide’s newly learned Dark-move Knock-Off is perfect counter for Ghost type, so he orders Hidoide to hit Musashi with it, gently. Musashi only gets a headbump from this so, all good. Except Gengar is mad as hell now. XD GG!

Then the best scene starts! Kuchinashi comes to see the situtation with Acerola, tells the Rocket Gang Trio that they’re actually better than he initally thought, so he throws them a Z-Power Ring! And then we get to see the god damn gorgeus Dark Z-move! it’s darn powerful looking, and man, the faces Musashi, Kojiro and Nyarth have while seeing Gengar get sucked into the Blackhole Eclipse is very, very well done. It shows both amaze and spookyness in them. This is the first time they’ve done the Z-move now, and oh am I glad they actually did it together. Even if Kojiro was the one to wear it, the energy def came from all three of them. This is the best outcome I could have hoped for the Z-move and I’m pleased. Very pleased.

Acerola then realises that Gengar was actually lonely instead of being greedy, so she decides to be friends with it. A happy end and all! Judging from Kuchinashi’s dialogue, this seems to be a norm to Acerola. Acerola also spills the beans about this old man being the Island King Kuchinashi to Rocket Gang, who aren’t very pleased with his trick. But Rocket gang also spills beans on being from the criminal organisation, where we realise Kuchinashi does indeed know Sakaki. And yet, he lets Rocket Gang keep the Z-Power Ring. Fits him.

In the end, Acerola’s Mimi-tan rewards Musashi with the Mimikkyu-Z crystal, which I bet is because Mimi-tan is greatful for Musashi saving Acerola earlier. It makes sense in my head at least. And imo, she deserves it. So, Rocket Gang ends up with a double-prize this episode: Z-Power Ring, and a new Z-crystal! Ii Kanjii indeed!

At the end of the episode, we finally have our appearance of the real main character of the show, who’s finally heading to Ula’Ula Island himself as well! It’s time for his third island adventures!

I’ll cya all next week, when Satoshi gets to battle Kuchinashi (all thanks to Acerola convincing him), Kuchinashi gets a call from Sakaki himself, and Lugarugan’s Red eyed Beast mode returns! Until then!

[theindifferentdroid]

Hot Blood: Part 2 [Kylo Ren x reader]

Part 1

A/N: Well, I think I’ve found my new multi-part fic! The first part of this fic took off (I’m not sure why, but I’ll take it). I really enjoyed writing that prompt fill, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing this part as well. I have a vague idea of where this will go, and I believe it’ll be a wild ride. Enjoy! Any feedback is appreciated.

Word Count: 2,000+

Warnings: Canon-typical violence

"Hold on, Y/N! I’m coming with you," Ben called.

You turned to see him running up the hill, trying to catch up, his long, lanky legs moving him effortlessly up the steep incline. You didn’t wait up for him.

"Ben, I’m going to meditate. I don’t need company."

"Ah," he said, pausing to take a few deep breaths, having finally caught up with you. "See. That’s where you’re wrong."

You ignored him but caught a sideways glance at him when you thought he wasn’t looking.

"Alright," Ben said, his tone softening a little. Still moving forward, he extended his arm to rest it over your shoulder and pull you closer to him. "Maybe you don’t need company, but you could use some help."

You turned your head to look at Ben, desperately trying to ignore how close you were to him. The dimming sunlight played with his features, casting deep shadows across his face.

He stopped walking, and you slowed to a stop with him. He turned to face you completely, and his arm slid over your back, but he left his hand there, squeezing your shoulder gently. You suddenly wondered if it would ever get easier to look at him.

When he spoke again, his voice was timid. "I noticed you’ve been struggling a little. With the lessons. I mean, not that I’ve been watching you, or anything." He stopped short with a huff, running his other hand through his hair, catching the braid at the base of his neck and twirling it on his finger absentmindedly. "What I’m trying to say is... if you want help meditating, I can... I can help. If you want me to."

You felt your cheeks redden, but you tried to play it off. "Why do I feel like you'd be more of a distraction than a benefit, Ben Solo?"

To your disappointment, Ben pulled his hand off of your shoulder quickly, feigning offense. "Oh, I distract you, do I?" His confidence was surprisingly present again.

"You know what I mean! Don't get too full of yourself."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

You huffed. "Stars, you are your father's son."

Ben eyed you dangerously, though you still saw a playful sparkle in his eye. So you decided to push a little further. "Han, Junior."

Ben took off quickly back down the hill. "Alright. That's enough."

You chuckled and called to him as he walked away. "Hey! About that lesson."

Ben stopped, his head snapping back to look up at you. His eyes were hopeful and endearing.

"This time tomorrow?"

The corners of his lips twitched slightly, and you could tell he was stifling a bigger smile. "Whatever you say, princess."

A guttural scream dragged you up from depths of your distraction.

You looked down. The tip of your light saber had just disappeared into the general’s shoulder. You didn’t move. It wouldn’t kill him, which was a fate far more generous than he deserved.

You shook your head, trying desperately to clear your mind. The memory you had was so clear. You couldn’t remember the last time you had recalled any of your days from the temple as vividly as you had just now. You looked at Kylo - Ben - and he was staring at you, that same hopeful look in his eyes as he had had in them so many years ago.

"What do you mean?" you asked slowly.

"I mean what I said; I’m coming with you."

On instinct alone, you removed your saber from Hux’s shoulder to guard yourself, the green light humming between you and Kylo.

"You’re not coming with me."

"You’re never going to get out of here by yourself," Kylo pleaded. "If we take my shuttle–if you let me come with you–we might have a chance."

You stared at him for a beat, considering. "How do I know you won’t just bring me back here?"

"You just have to trust me."

Kylo’s eyes were even more pleading now. He looked tired, drained. Was this what the First Order had done to him? He was merely a shell of the man, the boy, you had known. He looked like he needed a break. He needed rest. He needed to go home.

Suddenly, you felt a tugging on your leg. Your feet fell out from beneath you, and your back hit the cold metal ground hard. It rattled your bones and your head ached instantly. You leg was being pulled, one hand wrapped tightly around your ankle. You sat up just enough to see Hux using his one good arm to drag you towards him. His coat sleeve was displaced by your boot; a blade glinted viciously beneath his wrist.

The air sang with electricity. A sharp crack sounded as red, pulsing light bounced off the walls. Kylo’s saber was raised above his head momentarily before he brought it down with a throaty growl. You closed your eyes and shielded your face, and you could feel the energy prickling at your leg as his light saber passed by it. Something sizzled eerily above the din of the saber before being drowned out by a scream far worse than you’d ever heard.

When you opened your eyes, Hux was doubled over, a few feet away from where his hand lay next to your ankle.

"Ren!" Hux screamed, the name drawing out into an incomprehensible sound.

Kylo approached you, strutting right past the officer screaming his name. He reached out a hand to you. His saber was still activated and glowing in the other. "I’m not coming back. Let’s go."

You didn’t take his hand, instead pushing yourself up off the ground. You started at a quick pace down the hall and reactivated your saber. The whirring of the TIE fighters echoed down the hall, and you knew you were getting close to the hangar. A hand grasped your arm before you could go any further. You spun around ready to swing your light saber at a moments notice.

"It’s just me," Kylo said, meeting your eyes.

His hand felt like hot coal against your arm, even through his gloves and over your sleeve. His touch was stern and strong but you could feel the comfort flowing off of him in waves. It had been so long since you had contact with Ben, or even been in his presence; you’d forgotten what his energy felt like or how strong an attachment you had ever had to him.

You had to remind yourself that this wasn’t Ben; that, if given the chance on any other day, you would have gladly sunk your saber deep into the heart of Kylo Ren. You weren’t here to help him escape. If he happened to get out while helping you, then that was on him.

Kylo blinked to break your gaze, squeezing your arm before letting go. "I’ll go first. Follow me."

He stepped in front of you, his large frame eclipsing the bright lights in the hanger. He turned off his saber and holstered it. "Pick up your saber. You won’t need it."

You balked at him. "Why should I –"

"Do you want to attract attention to yourself?" he asked, turning slightly to face you.

You complied, mumbling curses under your breath. You swore you could see a smile creep on his face before he strode out into the bay.

There was a spattering of troopers throughout the vast chasm that was the hangar, none of which seemed to care about the two of you. Kylo avoided the designated lanes, cutting a shortcut through the lines of fighters, ducking under ladders and fuel lines. He moved swiftly, his heavy cloak swaying behind him.

He finally slowed once you reached the opposite end of the hangar and approached a fighter. It was different than the rest: the ends were long, pointed and sleek as opposed to the flat wings of the other TIEs. It was menacing. You probably could have assumed it belonged to Kylo.

He gestured for you to ascend the ladder, and you began to climb, until you reached the top. Peering into the cockpit, you scoffed and looked down to Kylo who was right behind you on the ladder.

"This is barely big enough for you. How are we both going to fit?"

"Just get in."

You began to look around the hangar for your ship, pointing it out to Kylo. "There. There’s my shuttle. Why can’t we take that?"

"Y/N, now is not the time. As soon as someone finds Hux’s sorry self in the hall, we’re going to be wanted men."

You stopped, one foot in the fighter. "‘We?’ Oh no, you’re not dragging me into this. I’m not – ”

A blaster bolt cut through the air, scorching the metal of the vehicle just above your head. "Kriff –"

"Go," Kylo yelled. "Now!"

He pushed a hand against your back as you continued to step into the ship, careful not to step on any controls. He kept his hand on your back as he made his way up. Another blaster bolt sounded and Kylo hurried in trying to evade it. The motion sent you tripping over the seat, landing awkwardly on the other side.

"Son of a -" Kylo screamed, a loud groan escaping his lips as he fought to shut the door quickly behind him. "They hit me."

Panic burst in your chest, a deeper worry than you had already been feeling. You tried to sit up, leaning across the seat. "Where? Let me see."

"Move!" Kylo bellowed as he fell into the seat. You leaned back as much as you could without disturbing any of the controls, but your knees were still pressing into Kylo’s space at odd angles.

The fighter roared to life as the blaster bolts began to accumulate, more troopers appearing as word got out and the noise of the engine called attention to itself. Kylo leaned forward to engage a switch, leaving a shiny streak of blood along the back of the seat.

You kept your eyes on him, trying to ignore the chaos of the hangar bay just outside. The fighter shook as Kylo unleashed his own artillery on the ‘troopers, blowing most of them away as he took off. The forward motion of the shuttle pushed Kylo back in his seat, and he winced.

"Are you okay?"

You saw his eyes flash your way just briefly, as if to see where the sound had come from. "Ask me again in five minutes. I’m a little busy."

You rolled your eyes. Typical Ben.

You sat in silence for a few minutes more, watching Kylo in awe. He was an incredibly skilled pilot, all the more impressive as he blew his old allies out of the sky. You shook with a chill wondering if he would turn on you as quickly as he had the First Order. That would be a question better suited for when you weren’t in such close quarters.

Once the TIEs had seemingly been eliminated, you relaxed back against the console as much as you could and inquired about Kylo’s state again.

"Not important," he quipped. "They’ll send more fighters soon enough. We need to get out of here. What are the coordinates for the base?" he asked, beginning to pull up the nav system.

You leaned forward to read his face. "What base?"

"The base," he repeated, cocking his head to look at you. "The Resistance..." He trailed off when he saw the blank expression on your face. "You’re not with the-"

"I’m not with the Resistance," you said plainly.

Kylo’s eyes finally met yours. The cockpit was dark, only the lights from the console illuminating his face from below, casting deep shadows around his eyes. His brow furrowed, concealing his eyes further in the darkness. They were usually his easiest tell, but he was so hard to read here, now, so close.

"Who?" he began, confused enough to leave off the rest of his question. You knew what he wanted to know, though.

You took a deep breath. "I’m not with the Resistance," you repeated. "I’m... not with anyone. I’m a bounty hunter."

Part 3