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unmaskedagain · 5 years ago

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Worse than the Devil

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Hey Everyone, I got really inspired by the amazing response to my first fic Queen Of Mean. I decided to write a follow up. Its to Selena Gomez’s version of Cruella De Vil. I loved it when it first came out and it sent shivers when I realized it was perfect for my follow up.

Looking back the missing pigtails in the bluenette’s hair when she walked into class Monday morning, dressed like she just got off the runaway, flanked by Chloe at her side, should’ve been the first warning sign.

But in the class’s defense, it had been a crazy weekend. The fireworks that came with Ladybug’s video, Alya’s meltdown, and Lila being outted as a liar didn’t die down after class ended that day. No. The weekend had been filled out a never-ending stream of group texts, complaining of hurt feelings, nasty little liars, and why, or why wasn’t Marinette replying to their texts? Answering her phone? Didn’t she know they were sorry? Didn’t she know they needed their everyday Ladybug now more than ever? Alya in particular.

Alya, who had spent the entire weekend, nearly 24/7, trying to save her blog; defend her life’s work against the avalanche of criticism that had come it’s way; even the most loyal fans screamed of betrayal. She had released a dozen video explaining what happened and begging her viewers to understand that people make mistakes. Calling Marinette with no answer, texting her best friend for help only to get no reply. Texting Marinette that Lila was a dirty, rotten, liar in over a hundred different way, in over a hundred different texts; only to never get a reply; which Alya never understood. Marinette was right. Lila was a liar. Alya and Marinette should be teaming up to bring her down like their brought down Chloe; stand together like best friends do.

As Alya sat patiently at her desk, with Nino holding her hand in support, waiting for Marinette to arrive so she could find comfort in her bestie, never once did an apology cross her mind. Alya was too indignant, too self-righteous, convinced the Ladybug was victim-blaming. It wasn’t Alya’s fault. Her boyfriend agreed. Her entire class agreed. She just knew, soon, all of Paris would agree.

When Marinette casually strolled in, talking animatedly with Chloe about their week, she left the other students stunned. Gone was the pintails. Gone was the easy-going, simple, practically trademarked pink pants and grey flower decorated shirt. Gone was the happy smile that the students had always remembered was there to greet them and bring them cheer on a sour Monday, like the day was.

Instead, Marinette’s hair was down and flowing down her shoulders, longer than they could ever remember it being (though granted they hadn’t paid much attention to their once friend in last few months, except for giving her a few quick glares and sneers) and was perfectly coiffed with strands pullback in braids that would’ve made Daenerys Targaryen take notes. She was dressed in all black; a cropped leather jacket, a sparkly black halter top that tied around her neck in a pretty bow, her jeans black and skin tight, and killer high heels that would make most girls envious. The only color Marinette wore was the sliver bracelets adorning her arms and the classic movie star red lips she sported. Marinette looked a supermodel.

And if Marinette’s new look didn’t stunned them. Then the look on her face when she glanced at them sure did. Move over Hawkmoth, because if Marinette didn’t scare you, no evil thing could.

It was like the entire classroom went colder. Maybe it was because of the ice in Marinette’s stare, her curved red-stained smirk that screamed: beware. The way everything about her just screamed predator, alpha, top of the food chain. Queen.

Alya blinked hard. Nino blinked hard. Adrien blinked hard. Too stunned at the sight to even remember to badger the bluenette. She and Chloe, also dressed like a runaway model, flounced to the back of the class without a hello, a smile, a wave; anything friendly. It was like they were too insignificant for the girls to notice. If they had an ounce of luck still in their lives, that would’ve been so.

Unfortunately for them that wasn’t the case.

The girls were painfully aware of their existence; of every move they made over the week, every stupid text they sent, every false apology uttered. Because the downfall of the Ladyblog was just a taste of what was to come. At this point, Marinette and Chloe was just Spiders waiting for the kill.

“Girl, you don’t have to sit with Chloe,” Alya exclaimed. “We’ll make room, right?” Nino nodded quickly, eager to give his childhood friend an olive branch.

“Why wouldn’t I want to sit with Chloe?” Marinette asked nonchalantly. “She’s my best friend.”

What happened next was similar to what, Marinette, thought happened in movie; where the main character says something shocking at a dance, there’s a sound of a record scratch, and silence as all eyes turn to the speaker.

The smirk the spread over Chloe’s face, the glow that filled her, the thought of the havoc she was about to help commence practically made her purr.

“Best friend?” Alix asked, her pink hair pulled back and her face skeptical. “Last I checked, you were mortal enemies.”

“Last time you check was not long after Lie-La came to class,” Marinette retorted.

“Which is the last time you’re opinion matter to us,” Chloe added. “Or well to Mari here. I never paid you peasant any mind.”

“You can’t be best friends,” Alya jumped up. “You shouldn’t even be friends. I can’t believe it? After what she did to you?”

The other students nodded.

“She stole your design.” Rose put in.

“Bullied you for years,” Max said.

“Ruined your present for teach!” Kim added.

Alya nodded smugly at the class backing her up, and gave Marinette a bright smile and an expectant look that always used to work on cowing the other girl.

“Bygones,” Marinette sighed. “I forgave her. And we bonded over how stupid you were at believing Lie-La.” Marinette leaned back in her seat. “Besides it’s not like she ever called me a jealous bitch? Told me to check my sources? Ditched me a million times. Whispered mean words about me right in front of me. And even crueler words behind my back. Chloe would never do that.”

“You know who would?” Chloe grinned. ‘You.” She pointed at Alya. “And you.” She pointed at Alix. “And you!” At Nino “And you, you, you, you. And well everyone here really.”

“Chloe maybe be mean; in fact the greatest mean girl Sharpay,” Marinette smiled lovingly at the blond who preened at the praise.

“But at least I’m not a bad friend,” Chloe snipped viciously.

“Now Chloe that would imply I’m still friends with them at all.”

At the statement, students wilted into themselves. Their misdeeds weighed heavily on them. They had been so upset at Lila for lying to them, at themselves for believing her, kicking themselves for not listening to Marinette, they never once considered how Marinette felt about the whole mess. But now they knew, she wasn’t happy.

Little did they know just how furious the once sweet girl was.

The two girls turned their attention to each other.

“Wasn’t this week just amaz!” Chloe said easily. “Fashion shows are always just so spectacular.”

“Your mom is, like, the best,” Marinette nodded eagerly. “I still can’t believe we got to model.”

Chloe side-eyed the students, pretending they weren’t listening. “And why not? They were short. And just look at us. We’re beautiful. We deserved to be on that runway.”

“Runaway?” Mylène asked, awed. “You were in a fashion show.”

Marinette nodded, kindly, though inwardly smirking. “There are pictures from the show online. They’re trending.” So was Marinette’s social media accounts. “We got to model with Kate Upton and Bella and Gigi Hadid.”

“We’re all the rage!” Chloe stated. “Mommy’s thinking of making us the faces of her new line. We’ll be in next week’s issue of Teen Vogue.”

“I posted a few photos on my Insta,” Marinette shrugged. “You can look if you want, I guess.” It was said with a faux unsure, insecure, unassuming voice; a voice that even the most terrifying vampire bat could have even the smartest of victims dancing to it.

With that the girls went back to their conversation. Pretending they didn’t notice their classmates whipping out their phones to verify.

“WOW,” Rose beamed. “They do have pics with the Hadid sisters. Oh you look so pretty Marinette.”

“Dude is that Kendall Jenner?” Kim asked.

“Beyoncé!” Alya yelled. “Beyoncé was there. You met Beyoncé.”

“Chill,” Chloe snapped. “We didn’t meet her. We just waved. Jay-Z was there too btw.”

“Jay-Z,” Nino whispered in awe.

Before befriending Marinette, Chloe was have gladly lied and said they met the goddess, that was Queen Beyoncé. But Marinette wouldn't suffer liars. And hated anyone who lied about her. Chloe was smart enough to know losing Marinette as a friend would be costly to her; both personally and professionally.

The blond refused to toss away the blessing that was Marinette’s friendship. Not the like fools before her. They didn’t know what they lost. But Chloe would make sure they did.

It had taken weeks of slowly inching her way to being Marinette’s friend. The girl had been untrusting the blonde’s actions at first. But eventually, Chloe won her over, proved she could be a good friend, if not the best friend Marinette ever had.

And the best part? Chloe didn’t have to change. Granted she had to dull unsavory traits like lying and stealing but it was worth it.

“Tony. Stark.” Max gulped like he was just told Santa was in fact real. “You are in a picture with Tony Stark; Iron Man.”

“Pepper Potts wanted a vacation,” Marinette said. “Peter, their son, is a friend of mine. We met last summer when he was visiting England with his class. I was there with my grandma. We hit it off. He knew I was nervous about going on stage so he got his mom to come here so he could support me. It was just supposed to be the two of them. Until Mr. Tony realized and followed along. Swore up and down they were trying to ditch him,” Marinette laughed.

“Oh please,” Chloe huffed. “He was proud that his kid was hanging out with a gorgeous French model.”

“Two gorgeous French models,” Marinette corrected. “The three of us got ice cream afterwards, remember? I can’t wait for this summer. Peter said we can spend of three weeks at Stark Tower; interning. PR for you. You’ll be amazing at it. God knows I could do, though.” She said glumly. Though her internship was going to be assisting the Pepper Potts on her day to day life.

“Ridiculous!” Chloe snapped. “Utterly Ridiculous. You know you can’t wait to get your hands on Thor’s cape to find out what material Alien princes use. Not to mention the plans I saw for a potential Captain America supersuit.”

Marinette crossed her arms, and huffed. “Hey that man is walking around dressed like America’s drunk prom date. Someone has to step in.”

“It’s a classic look,” Nathanial told them.

“It’s a crime against fashion,” Marinette hissed.

With that, the girls went back to talking about their weekend and bickering over summer plans. Or at least they tried to.

“You could’ve invited us,” Alya snapped. “Or at least told us.”

“Why?” Marinette asked. “We’re not friends. Why don’t you ask Lila how it was? I’m sure, she’ll happily spin you a yarn about how amazing everything was. And promise you’ll meet them next time.”

It was like a slap to the face. The entire class quieted back down; wishing the bell would ring already. And wondering where Miss Bustier was.

Unfortunately for the teacher, quite a few concerned parents and staff members had taken issue with how Bustier had been running her class. Bullying, students being constantly turned into Akumas, why Lila could miss so much school without it being a major issue.

“Don’t you think you’re being harsh?” Adrien asked. “They’re sorry.”

No, Marinette thought darkly. They weren’t. Not yet. But they would be soon.

“Okay,” Marinette shrugged, carelessly, inhumanly. “I don’t see why that matters. I accept their apology but it changes nothing. Sorry doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t magically make every alright again. It’s no Ladybug charm. Let it go.” She warned.

While Marinette did have plans to bring down Adrien, they were for a later time. And when she did, it would be painful. And it would break him. Like he helped break her.

For months Adrien had stood by, remained silent as Marinette was made into an outcast, bullied, lost all her friends… when he knew. Knew Lila was lying, knew Marinette was just trying to help. After he promised, vowed to have her back. Instead, Adrien let them deface her sketchbook after Lila accuse Marinette of yet another bullying incident; destroying all of Marinette’s hard work. Despite knowing Marinette couldn’t have possible done what Lila said she had. He just let it happen, too afraid to stand up and tell the truth.

Adrien didn’t take the hint. Or didn’t recognize a warning when he heard it.

“Their hurting too!” The blond boy defended, outraged at how his everyday Ladybug

“How?” Marinette asked curiously, innocently reminiscent of the girl who had been their friend who had existed when the world was still a wholesome place. “You said it yourself it’s not like Lila was hurting anybody. At least that’s what you told me, remember? You knew Lila was lying since like forever and you’re just fine.”

It went silent again. Adrien paled. Marinette could barely stop the smile from slipping onto her face. If she wasn’t careful, they might combined their collective ten brain cells and catch on. See that she was a monster that should’ve never been released.

“You knew?” Nino asked in horrified disbelief.

Dozens of hurt filled eyes trained on Adrien. It was at that moment Ms. Mendeleiev walked into class. “Students, I’ll be filling in today and possibly for the rest of the week. Everyone in their seats. Class is about to begin.”

It was the smoothest devastation Chloe had ever witnessed and grew up with her mother and Gabriel Agreste as role models.

In few years, the blonde knew there would be few would who hesitate to call Marinette, or herself, the devil. Too stunned to realize just how much worse either girl was.

Chloe glanced at the girl who had become her best friend, and fellow mean-girl-in-arms. Marinette had her bluebell eyes trained on the chaos she had just unleashed, once again, on her fellow classmates.

A lessor man, woman would’ve shivered. Chloe had shivered and had nightmares the first time that gaze rested on her.

However, when time wore off the shock; Chloe realize she’d only see those type of eyes watching from underneath a rock.

If you weren’t scared of the New Marinette, then you hadn’t met her yet.

Look out world, Chloe thought. Long Live the Queen.

#Queen Mari AU.#Ml Salt #ladybug and chat noir #ml salt fic #ml spite fic #ml spite #adrien agreste #marinette dupen chang #marinette deserves better

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ilovefanfics2019 · 4 years ago

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Her own path

Part 2: A caring mother figure

Warnings: Some angst. Mentions of torture. Mentions of abuse. Mention of injuries. Mention of blood, cuts and bruises. Fluff between reader and mum Kurogiri.

Characters: Shigaraki, Reader, mum Kurogiri and a mention of Toga and Dabi

Description: After another training/torture session the reader gets some TLC from mum Kurogiri.

Also: Y/n = your name, f/c = favourite colour and sf/c = second favourite colour.

Side notes: Reader doesn't like to acknowledge Shigaraki as her father so she doesn't call him dad or father a lot.

I hope you enjoy this part I worked hard on it 🥰

Deep in the league of villains base screams and crys of pain rang out echoing around the barren empty halls. The scream and cries coming from young Y/n Shigaraki being tortured for failing to follow orders given to her in another training session. The one doing the torturing is none other than her father Tomura Shigaraki even though the young girl will never class him as that.

Y/n's pov

Pain ran though my body after another punch was thrown to my side and followed by a series of more punches and kicks. This continued on untill my abuser had enough and I sank down to the floor laying on my back struggling to get my breath back after being punched and kicked multiple times. The cold flooring feeling nice against my bear arms as I welcomed the silence in the room. But that silence was soon broken by a voice. A voice that I hated and dreaded hearing everyday of my life from the age of 4.

"I really thought you learnt your lesson after last time but I guess not" a male voice rang out somewhere to the left of me. Footstep drawing closer to me.

"I can't believe you still disobeyed me during your training" the voice sounding closer. Untill the face of said voice appeared above mine staring down at me.

"You lucky we need you alive for the plan or eles I would of killed you along time ago" he said with a cold look. I sat up and stared directly at the wall in front of me refusing to look at him waiting for him to asked the same questions he always asked after torturing me.

"Why do you refuse? Your going to have to given in eventually you have nowhere else to go and your never leaving us" the voice stated.

"I refuse because I don't want to be like" I turned my body to face him and raised my eyes to meet his to emphasize on the last word "you" I sneered out meeting my green eyes with his red ones but it doesn't faze him but I continued to answer his last statement whilst slowing rising up from the floor.

"You know I could always go to the heros and tell them everything like how you kidnapped me. Killed my mother who was a pro hero. How you abuse and torture me. And how you plan to use me for your sick evil plan" fully standing my voice getting louder after each point I pointed out untill the last word rang out and echoed around the room. After the echo died out and faster than I could blink the male held me up by my throat with his pinkys held away not touching my skin. His red eyes stared down into mine as he chuckled out.

"Like they would help you after all why would they believe you a 11 year old who looks small and weak" I glared at him for mention my very small appearance. But he ignored it and continued on.

"Do you know why they also wouldn't believe you?" He asked then answered by himself.

"Your no more than a pune little villain and after all" he sneered out pausing. Bring his mouth up to my ear he continued.

"Being a villain is in your blood so no matter how much you try and refuse your future is already sealed which is to kill All Might and become the villain you are ment to be" he silently chuckled out. His face drawing away from my ear to lock his eyes with my wide ones. Dropping me to the floor as I winced in pain whilst trying not to cry. He walks to the door whilst putting on his special gloves so he doesn't disintegrate the door handle, as he puts his hand on the handle he turns to face me.

"Return to your room and stay there for the rest of the night" his cold voice says then he faces back to the door opening it and walks out closing the door behind him. As soon as I hear his footsteps disappear down the hall I breakdown bursting into tears I've been holding in. Tears from being in pain, tears from things he said and tears from not being able to do anything about this. I used to hate my father before but now after everything he had just said to me I hate him even more and I wish I could disappear and just be back in the arms of my loving mother which is impossible thanks to the devil himself. My father.

After composing myself and drying my remaining tears and throwing on my jacket that had been discarded before all of the torturing had began I returned to my room even if you could call it that. The room itself it's not that very big but big enough for a single bed, a small desk with a chair and a small nightstand. As soon as you walking into my so called room through the door the first thing you see is my small desk which has a small plant on it along with some art supplies that Kurogiri gave me for 5th birthday so that I wouldn't be bored and a chair with a pillow on the seat which Dabi and Toga got me. To the left of my desk is my nightstand which has a small lamp on it along with a pile of books which Kurogiri also gave me on one of my birthdays. To the left of my nightstand is my single bed which is pushed up to the far side of the left wall. Then on the right side of the room is a door that leads to a small basic bathroom.

I closed the door behind me and went over to my bed and collapsed onto it with my face buried deep into the pillows not caring if I got blood on it. A small gentle knock came from my door. My door then opened and closed I already knew who it was so I didn't bother look up. Footsteps came towards my bed then the person sat down on my bed rubbing small comforting circles on my back.

"He gave you a hard time again" the voice of a male spoke gently. I turned my head to face him as I gave him a glance with a look of 'what do you think' as his yellow eyes looking into mine. He let out a small sigh as he then ask what he always asked me after coming to check up on me after my training/torture sessions.

"How badly are you hurt this time?" He asked sadly. I just turned my head back into the pillows refusing to answer his question. He sighed a long sigh before speaking again.

"Y/n please show me" he ask the tone of desperation clearly evidence in his voice. I let out a small sigh turning and sat up to face him on my bed. At seeing my face his yellow eyes seems to give a look of shocked. The mist man looking shocked continue to sit there patiently waiting for me to make a move to show him any hidden injuries that were hidden by my clothing. Slowly I took of my jacket to reveal my bare arms then a small gasp was heard from the mist man. Many more gasp from the mist man soon followed as I rolled up my f/c tracksuit bottoms and as I took my sf/c vest top off leaving me in my black sports bra a large gasp left the mist man.

"Y/n" he said quietly his eyes seem to have a soft look whilst looking over my form.

"Come on let's get you cleaned up so we can patch you up" he said gently with a caring tone. We move to the bathroom and whilst he was running me a bath I took a look at my form in the mirror attached to the back of the bathroom door only to let out a small inaudible gasp shocked by my own appearance.

My legs had dried blood running down them mostly likely from the cuts I got when Shigaraki had thrown knives at me in an attempt to get me to use my Decay quirk. My arm had bruises that already had started to form along with small cuts that were still bleeding a bit. My face was littered with small cuts and dried blood coming down from a cut that was just under my bottom lip. My right side had an enormous bruise that had already formed and ran from under my arm to my hip. My hair was a mess stick up in all directions with dried blood and grime decorating it. I then turned and headed towards the bath when the mist man told me it was ready.

He left to go and wash my clothes whilst I washed myself gently and carefully and made sure to shampoo and condition my hair. Once done cleaning myself I climbed out of the now bloody bath water, drained it and wrap a towel around myself. After drying myself and my hair I then put on some clean panties and bra and I slowly exited the bathroom to see the mist man sitting crisscrossed on my bed that had new, fresh and clean sheets on with a med kit and hairbrush on my nightstand ready to use.

I sat down on the bed in front of the mist man facing him as he attended to my leg wounds first taking great care when doing so. Once done with my legs he gave me some long f/c pj bottoms to put on and then started on my arm mostly just put some cooling gel over the bruises then doing same to the big bruise on my right side. He then asked me to turn around, with my back now facing him he lifted my long hair over my shoulders so he could see my back. He let out a loud gasp making me ask him.

"What's wrong?". But he didn't replie. So I got up from my bed and went to the bathroom to look at my back in the mirror. My eyes widen seeing why his reaction was what it was. I had a huge deep gash on my back that went diagonally down from the bottom of my left shoulder and stopped above my right hip. I left the bathroom with the look of shocked still plastered on my face as I sat down with my back facing the equally shocked misty male.

"I'm going to have to stich it" the misty male said gently and carefully trying to gage my reaction. I gave him a small nod as permission to do so. He stitched it up whilst talking to me to keep my mind of the pain then once he was finished he wrapped it up with a bandage. He then gave me my long sleeve f/c top to put on then started to brush out my long light blue pinked streaked hair before tying it into two pigtails. He then stayed to talk to me whilst I ate the buttered toast and drank the hot chocolate he had made me.

Third pesron pov

After chatting some more and giving the young girl some medication to ease the pain he tucked her into bed with a cuddle and a somewhat form of something that classed as a kiss from him to her forehead.

"Thanks for your help again Kurogiri" Y/n said sweetly to him.

"Its okay I take great pride in caring for you" he replied caringly.

"Goodnight Kurogiri" the young girl yawned. Kurogiri lets out a quiet chuckle.

"Goodnight Y/n" Kurogiri said quietly and gently before making his way to the door. Before closing the door the male with a sad and gentle look glanced back at the young girl who was settling down for the night before letting out a small inaudible sigh before closing the door and leaning back on it before saying to himself.

"One day I hope she get the chance to get away from here so she can change her life for the better and become someone who she want to be" before letting go of the door handle and continuing to say.

"But untill that day I will still care for her as I love her like she was my own daughter" Kurogiri exhaled a small breath before retreating down the hall to his own room. Whilst the young girl in question was snuggled up with her blanket in hand given to her by her new mother like figure preparing for the long night of nightmares ahead she too wishing she had a better chance of life.

But little do both of them know their wish would soon become true. In the form of a bunch of teenage trainee heros, a loud mouth of a teacher, a very tired caterpillar teacher, a tired looking indigo haired boy and a small one horned girl who may just become the young girls new friends and family after a evil plan gone wrong.

#bnha fanfiction #bnha x y/n #bnha x reader #my hero academia #mha shigaraki #mha x reader #mha fanfiction #mha #mha kurogiri #mha league of villains #bnha shigaraki #bnha kurogiri #Dad Shigaraki #Mum Kurogiri #Dadigaraki #Mumrogiri #league of villains #child reader

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ffamranxii · 5 years ago

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Okay folks, I am all caught up with Tokyo Mew Mew Au Lait chapters 1-3 and Tokyo Mew Mew 2020 Re-Turn chapters 1 and 2 so I am Doing A Thing! Buckle up, bitches!

MASSIVE SPOILERS IF YOU’RE WAITING FOR THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH RELEASES (whenever the hell those will be). Thanks to @berrychanx, @hikayagami, and @ribbonstrawberrysurprise for the scans, English translation, and hard work putting the translation onto the manga so neatly.

LEADERS

MOMOMIYA ICHIGO AND SHIBUYA AOI

Honestly this is the biggest difference between the 2020 Re-Turn reboot/original series and the magical boy tribute. Aoi is in no way like Ichigo once you get past that they’ve both been injected with Iriomote cat DNA. Whereas Ichigo is cheery and bubbly and cute, Aoi is withdrawn, suffers from low self confidence, and sort of breaks the fourth wall during nearly every fight, freaking out at how catchphrases and such just seem to burst forth from him after he transforms. (It’s honestly a funny highlight.) Their respective crushes are also treated differently, with Aoi falling hard for Anzu (though of course saying nothing) almost immediately, almost a love at first sight sort of deal, and Ichigo already having this crush on this boy when we start vanilla TMM and already deeply committed to him in the reboot. In civilian form, (using vanilla Ichigo here, it’s not fair to compare Aoi to 2020 “been a magical girl for years” Ichigo), Aoi is a lot more unsure of himself, and seems almost to be in this Mew Mew thing for Anzu, whereas Ichigo immediately had a “I’ll do my best” acceptance mindset from the start. (Both freak out over their cat ears appearing at random moments, even Ichigo in the 2020 reboot, and I think I can finally give poor Aoi a point over Ichigo here. It makes him uncomfortable but he just wears a hoodie and hopes no one notices. It makes Ichigo freak out more lol.)

THE LOVE INTEREST / DUNGEON NAVI / SECONDARY PROTAGONIST

AOYAMA MASAYA, HINATA ANZU, SHIROGANE RYOU

Anzu is a precious peach and she occupies such a weird role here that I almost couldn’t make her a neat little graphic. She doesn’t fit neatly into a “oh, they’re a genderbent so and so” like nearly everyone else, and it’s fascinating. On the one hand, several panels in the first chapter of Au Lait make it clear that the writers are setting her up to be Aoi’s love interest. Every magical girl anime has a love interest, so why wouldn’t a magical boy manga? But that’s where she diverges. Unlike Masaya, who is a very clear tribute to Sailor Moon’s Tuxedo Mask (with the exception that he’s a cute bean as a civilian, he’s nearly the same person. No past, gets kidnapped, magical form to protect the magical girl, evil form to fight the magical girl [this happened in PGSM, and he’s been brainwashed several times]), who has always been a secondary character, Anzu actually starts the Au Lait manga. She wasn’t even featured on the promo images, so when I opened the first chapter in a zip file I thought I’d downloaded the wrong one. My rudimentary Japanese confirmed I hadn’t, but I was like “well who tf is this chick?” I waited for an English translation to be sure and yup - Anzu is being treated almost like a secondary protagonist. Well that’s new. It’s as if the Au Lait writers smashed together the characters of Ryou and Masaya and named their love child Hinata Anzu. She’s intelligent, she knows more about this project than she should, and, like Ryou in vanilla, she’s out and about and helping the boys, not just as a civilian, but in every battle. She doesn’t have powers (that we know of), but her smarts and knowledge of animals have served them well time and again. Au Lait seems more like, as one reader put it, Anzu And The Dork Squad than Aoi’s team.

Masaya in 2020 Re-Turn is adorable. He is at odds with Quiche over Ichigo (or more like, he dislikes just how much Quiche likes Ichigo), and in a moment of panic he uses his leftover remnants of Deep Blue’s power to... change his clothes. I’m not sure what actually happened there. (Note: Thanks ribbonstrawberrysurprise: Deep Blue manifested to float the chimera anima/train and its passengers to safety.) But I love that he was so concerned for Ichigo, who at that moment desperately needed help, that the being who created his body and didn’t like Ichigo wanted to protect her. Ryou was his standoffish self, but even he seemed to have a hint of a lingering crush. He organized a party for the Mews and then took over in cafe duties so Ichigo could meet her man at the airport, unable to quiiiiite meet her eye while saying so. I always did like Ryou/Ichigo.

THE SASSY RICH BITCH

AIZAWA MINTO AND YOYOGI SHIZUKA

First of all: SAILOR JUPITER TAUGHT ME THAT PINK EQUALS FLOWER HURRICANES AND CAN I JUST SAY THAT I AM DISAPPOINTED AS FUCK THAT SHIZUKA ISN’T PLANT BASED AND CAN’T DO FLOWER HURRICANES THAT IS ALL.

Admit it. When we saw the promo image, we assumed certain things. One of those things turned out to be true: Aoi would be the Iriomote cat, because of course he would be Ichigo’s counterpart. Shizuka is wearing glasses, and his costume had the little tail, which meant he must have been a fish or a marine mammal and therefore Retasu’s counterpart, right? RIGHT. But also very, very wrong, my friends. Shizuka is indeed water based like Retasu - he’s an Amazon river dolphin (the pink ones!) - and that’s where all his similarities to our gentle green girl end. Instead of making everyone exactly the same but gender flipped, Au Lait is going in a slightly different direction, and I really like it. Shizuka is actually the most similar to our resident princess Minto! They both attend prestigious elite schools and generally act better than everyone else, but the real gem here is their interactions with their leaders. Shizuka has some truly snappy one-liners - such as discovering Ryuusei (”that’s the power of an idiot”) - and his reactions to Aoi are gold. He considers himself a genius, and indeed he’s very intelligent according to Natsume (and his school seems to be for smart people, it’s not prestigious for music or anything like that), and he makes little quips at Aoi all the time about how Aoi isn’t. I could totally see him spending an entire shift reading a book at Cafe Mew Mew while Aoi does all the work, only for him to stand up and someone to scream “HOLY CRAP, SHIZUKA’S UP, SHIT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN.”

Minto is also full of snappy quips at Ichigo in the reboot, mostly about how Ichigo should handle the biggest, strongest enemies since she’s the leader, and can’t Ichigo even keep them in place so Minto can shoot them down? (And yeah, someone totally said the above comment ^ when Minto stood up at Cafe Mew Mew.) Minto was always one of my favorite characters, and I love that we saw a lot of close ups of her in the reboot, and that she seemed to be second in command.

THE CHILD

FONG PURIN AND KANDA RYUUSEI

Oh my god these two. I refuse to believe they aren’t related. I know Purin is Chinese but you cannot take this headcanon from me.

Purin is my favorite character in OG Mew Mew and Ryuusei claimed my heart the second I saw the Au Lait promo. NEITHER OF THEM DISAPPOINTED ME, I AM SO IN LOVE.

While I WILL say that I in no way care for Mew Pudding’s redesign (I hate literally everything about it. I miss her jumpsuit. I hate the little pigtails at the top of her head. I hate the ribbon. At least she still has her fingerless gloves), I love that she got an entire panel of just her being badass. She stood in the middle of some train tracks, facing a runaway speeding train chimera anima, with that ^ fucking look on her face, and was like “where you going, na no da?” Purin from like, ten years ago wouldn’t have done that. She has matured so much, but she’s still the young, goofy little acrobat monkey who provides for her tea-themed siblings (who criminally do not make an appearance) and I just love her so fucking much, you guys.

RYUUSEI. Guys. He’s an idiot. Oh my god. He’s a cute lovable idiot. “What’s a gomodo dragon? What’s a kodomo dragon? What’s a condo dragon and why does it need a house?” Anzu was in love with him for like five seconds until she learned he’s a dumbass, and Aoi was jealous as fuck, and no one ever told him what his damn animal was, and I laughed my ass off through his entire last couple pages. He also had his jacket hand embroidered with the kanji for dragon, BUT IT’S MISSPELLED. It’s missing a stroke! XD

Ryuusei is the KOMODO dragon (which is Anzu’s favorite animal), and komodos are badass. He also either always had weird animal powers, or just never noticed that he suddenly got super smell. Komodo dragons, by the way, can track their prey for literally MILES by smell alone, for DAYS. It’s absolutely terrifying (thank you for the nightmares, Wild Thornberries), and Au Lait made it fucking comical. I can’t even. HE CAN SMELL THE RED DATA ANIMAL ON PEOPLE. I love it. He’s super strong and super cute, apparently lives with his grandparents, and is Purin’s counterpart in every single way, except I think SHE might be more mature than him. I love him. He is my baby.

Yellow is my favorite color and yellow never disappoints.

THE FAMOUS

FUJIWARA ZAKURO AND ROPPONGI AYATO

Zakuro had next to no presence in the reboot. She occasionally made some panels look pretty. She twice had a half page to herself, one per chapter. I am sad. I love my wolf lesbian. In semi-related news, I feel I have solved the mystery of Zakuro’s red data animal, something that has plagued the TMM community for years. The grey wolf is not endangered at all, yet Zakuro is injected with one, right? I read somewhere (either in a TMM blog or a conservation blog) that there is a subspecies of grey wolf that IS critically endangered. I believe it’s the Mexican grey wolf? I headcanon she was injected with DNA specifically from a Mexican grey wolf.

Moving on. In Chapter 3 (which was a DELIGHT), we met Ayato. Chapter 3 was the most frustrating chapter because let me tell you, Au Lait marks the first time I have ever read a manga chapter by chapter as it was being released in Japan. So I’m waiting Nakayoshi to publish the chapter, then I’m waiting for someone to scan Nakayoshi, then I’m waiting for someone to translate it, over and over and over, and omg I can’t believe this is what people DO. I’ve waited for full volumes before, but CHAPTERS? This is torture. Ayato, I haven’t had enough TIME with you!

Ayato seems to be an actor (in a really... really weird stage play), and has very few lines in his first appearance. I’m not sure what I make of him. He says about six sentences, which is actually a lot for a character introduced on a cliffhanger, but... I can’t decide if he’s said them in a mysterious Sailors Neptune and Uranus way or a flamboyant Sohma Ayame way. I ALSO DON’T KNOW WHAT ANIMAL HE IS AND I AM VERY ANGRY. BB Ryuusei said he smells like yakitori (a type of grilled chicken), which confirms he’s a bird. But. WHICH BIRD, DAMNIT?

CHAPTER FOUR WHERE ARE YOU?

THE FUNDING

AKASAKA KEIICHIRO, HINATA NATSUME, SHIROGANE RYOU

Hello again, Ryou! The boys here were wallpaper (though cute wallpaper) in the reboot. Natsume is 100% a troll. I love her. She admits in chapter 3 she literally just injected hot boys for her Mew Mew project. Even Ryou wasn’t that blunt. I mean, if you gotta save Earth and stare at people while you do it, they better be cute, right?

IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL THE FANDOM

MIDORIKAWA RETASU, SHIRAYUKI BERII, AKAI RINGO

Aside from her two half panels as a Mew Mew per chapter, this is the only good cap of Retasu as a civilian in the reboot. D: I believe Hiroo Taichi will be her counterpart in Au Lait.

I never liked Berii. There, I said it. She got TWO animals. She was some random newbie and she got to be leader just like that? And she was clueless and dumb and the writing in A La Mode wasn’t great. But I really like 2020 Berii. She’s cute, she seems more rabbit than cat, and she seems more intelligent and less of a blonde Ichigo clone. I don’t know if she’ll have an Au Lait counterpart.

WHERE IS RINGO? THE REBOOT WAS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO PUT HER IN THE STORY FOR REAL AND SHE JUST... WASN’T THERE?! THIS IS BLASPHEMY. RINGO IS THE BEST MEW MEW. BEST GIRL. JUSTICE FOR RINGO.

THE RELATIONSHIPS

MASAYA & ICHIGO VS AOI & ANZU

ZAKURO & MINTO VS AYATO & RYUUSEI

Nearly all of 2020 chapter 1 focused on Ichigo seeing Masaya again. I’m guessing this took place after he left for London. Ichigo left with him after A La Mode, and some time between then and Re-Turn came back to Japan, and now Masaya is back. They are still as lovey as ever, but not as sickeningly cute as Tsukino Usagi and Chiba Mamoru or anything. Phew! Their counterpart in Au Lait seems to Aoi and Anzu. (Look at that height difference! Poor Anzu, her poor neck.) Aoi already has a massive crush on her, but Anzu, bless her, is oblivious.

AND NOW FOR THE GAYS.

I think Zakuro and Minto is probably one of the most popular TMM ships and holy lesbians, Batman, they were well fed with this GORGEOUS panel at the end of chapter 2. Look at it. Zakuro had literally no panels, save for her two intros, to herself, and barely any panels at all in the reboot, and then BA-BAM, this beautiful ending shot. I swear Ikumi did it on purpose. Speaking of gays - is Ayato/Ryuusei the new Zakuro/Minto? Ayato seems to be at least bisexual (he also hit on Anzu), but this was literally his second panel. He is in a (terrible, TERRIBLE) play, and the actors are walking in the audience looking for the villain. Ayato walks into the audience and HITS ON RYUUSEI. His first goddamn words are “Do you want me to keep you, my cute little puppy?” to Ryuusei. He says fuck this acting shit, I see a SNACK. I think I ship it. I think I ship it hard.

THE STORY

*Au Lait is just getting started, so typical magical girl boy anime manga: Let’s find the others! Shenanigans! Some fillers! It’s cute, I love it, go read it.

*2020 Re-Turn is actually REALLY GOOD and chapter 2 reminds me of just how unique Tokyo Mew Mew was and still is among not just magical girl series, but animanga as a whole. Quick, what was the last environmental series you remember? Mine was Captain Planet - in the 90s. Preachy, in your face, after school special about things like pollution and endangered species and littering and honestly it was really cool, but very much a product of its time. Even now, magical girl animanga is still focused on bad guys, but bad guys are generic and represent something created for the series. Here, the bad guys are US, other human beings, who traffic animals, who endanger them, who wreck our planet enough that animals are barely clinging to life. There’s a very poignant scene featuring the adorable snow leopard up there (who’s the secondary protagonist of the reboot) ^, showing his mother being shot and himself being snatched by poachers, and he’s terrified, and has no idea what’s going on or where he is, and Ichigo is terrified for him. We need more series like this - not just of the magical girl genre, but of ALL genres. To make it accessible in this way, for people of all ages, something enjoyable, that people can fangirl over and love and its creators clearly put a lot of love and thought into. We need another Captain Planet, but less preachy, less after school special-y. We don’t want to be like the aliens (who remember, are descendants of humans who fucked up Earth so badly they had to leave it).

Behind all the cute of this manga and its reboot, and its new spinoff, Tokyo Mew Mew has a powerful message that we should all be following. It’s not even subtle. Get yo shit together, peeps.

#tokyo mew mew #tokyo mew mew 2020 re-turn #tokyo mew mew au lait #tokyo mew mew ore

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docholligay · 5 years ago

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I didn't actually watch Maleficent, I love the character but her tragic anime backstory wasn't a story i was interested in hearing, & from what I've seen I made the right call and it's not a film I personally would enjoy. Anyway I am INTRIGUED by your Revolution Story take on SB and would like to hear more about it & how Maleficent took that away. :D

Warning to anyone reading this: I really disliked Maleficent, so if you loved this movie, as I know many tumblr folks did, this may not be the post for you.

So Sleeping Beauty as a revolution story, is basically the only way I really ever think of it, it was one of my favorite movies as a kid and this idea of rising up even thought you are a much weaker and smaller person, as a group, you can get things accomplished and overthrow the evil.

I always found Sleeping Beauty to be very “guest starring Prince Phillip” and I liked it that way. The three fairies are much weaker than Maleficent, the humans cannot stand against her, she is a tyrant and a dictator with all the vanity of a petty slight bringing down entire kingdoms, with no thought to anything at all. The three fairies aren’t even powerful enough to undo her magic, but they now they can lie in wait, and they can shelter the chance to change something, and they do! It is only through them that Prince Phillip is able to kill Maleficent and do anything at all. it’s a princess story, of course, but I’ve always taken it as much more than that. It’s about community rising up together against a terrible foe that outpowers you.

Which is why Maleficent sucks so bad, among other reasons. Sure am glad they made the three fairies totally blundering fools, caricatures instead of characters, so Angelina Jolie could chew scenery and be the unquestioning good guy.

That’s part of what sucks so much about Maleficent, is it purported itself to be a more complicated take on the story but it’s not complicated at all, it just flipped the script on who the bad guy is. It’s almost fucking comical the way they make Stephan into the bad guy, complete with implied rape scene, I mean COME ON. It’s such a basic and pathetic take on the story instead of any of the really interesting stuff we might have done if we wanted to make the story more complex. And so many people liked it because Maleficent is COOL AS HELL, and so they wanted her tp be good and be the ~damaged woman~ and I was just like, OH MY GOD, JUST LET EVIL CHARACTERS BE EVIL. YOU CAN STILL ENJOY THEM.

Anyway, that whole sense of revolution story was what I was hoping to bring into my Harumichi rewrite, that I never really did anything with, but here is the opener to that:

“Mama, slow down!” Her voice was plaintive, rising above the dew-jeweled grass that so often had held her attention, she and her friends stringing it along spiderwebs like delicate diamonds, each queens of their own realm.

Her mother turned. “Rei, we MUST hurry! She’s coming!”

“I want to go home! Where’s my mama?” The small fairy to Rei’s right fluttered her blue wings, her pigtails hung by her head in exhaustion.

Rei’s mother hung her head. “We can never go home, Usagi. Your mother—both your mothers,” She looked over at her third charge, hair hanging in her face as she panted. “Were so brave. We must be brave for them.”

“What does that mean?” Usagi whined softly.

But Rei’s mother did not explain, simply took the red ribbon from the braid down her back and tied it around the bright blonde hair of the little girl in the orange dress. “Quickly now.”

They crashed through the underbrush, dragged behind, desperately clinging together. There was a roar, coming from behind them, closer and closer, the beads of sweat noticeable on her mother’s face, yanking the girls to their feet as they fell, too tired to fly, the trees grabbing at them, no longer friends, but a fence between then and freedom. They stumbled into a small clearing, and Rei's mother listened closely to the sound. There was a look of panic on her face as the roaring and baying grew closer.

“The Hellhounds!” She picked up Usagi and flew her to the top of a nearby tree. She came down and scooped up Mina and Rei, placing them on the same branch. She looked at them, her face pleading. “No matter what happens, you must not say a single world, girls, do you hear me? Not a single word must escape.” She glanced back down to the ground, searching. “You girls must stay together. You are our only hope. Mina, be clever. Rei, sharpen your iron will. Usagi, remember the kindness that we are all fighting for.”

Before the tiny fairies could respond, she flew back down to the ground and stood, waiting. Out of the bushes, fearsome and savage, the beasts came, their paws killing the grass beneath them, each blade crying out in a fearsome shriek. Their eyes lit with the fires of hell, their bodies jagged and dark, even in the shadows, somehow darker than the shadows themselves, conjured of nightmare.

They leapt at her, tearing a piece of her dress from her body. She extended her wand, blasting them off, the brilliant gold flames throwing long shadows through the forest, blood and light dancing in perfect concert.

A hollow, low laugh crackled across the small glen, the Hellhounds called back to their master. Through a green fire that somehow froze and consumed, she came like an angel fallen. She was deathly pale, her cheeks sallow and harsh as the coldest night. She smiled, but it proved somehow crueler than any scowl, as if each tooth was a knife tearing at innocent flesh, her tongue red with the salt of it.

“Risa.” Her voice was like glass shattering.

Risa stood up straight, defiant against her power. “You have won a small and insignificant battle.”

“Oh silly little girl, I have won it all. I am your Queen.” She tightened her hands on the scepter, and it seemed to slither beneath her grasp. “And you, my little subject, have been most disobedient.”

“Fairies have no queen, you have taken our world by--” She was shocked to the ground by a sharp line of green lightening, a gasp running through her as she lay on the ground.

But the girls stayed silent, bearing quiet witness.

“Risa, my dear, you and your two little friends have proven most bothersome to me.” She walked forward slowly, a glacier advancing, crushing. “But soon that will all be but a memory. Ikuko begged, you know.”

“That's a lie!” She barked.

“When will you learn? The truth, whatever it might have been, is only written by the survivors. You will beg, too, in the stories. How our great and noble Queen crushed a rebellion of ungrateful and, they will say, intensely brutal and cruel fairies, who should have been seeking to uplift the weak, but sought only their own power. A tragic story.” She gave the same low laugh, sinister and pulling as the undertow of a smooth river. “You should have Seen this, Seer. Diablo, my blade.”

Risa slowly raised her head to the tall and dark figure, watching as she drew an iron blade, the hilt wrapped in cool silver licked with flames of gold, a large emerald set on the guard.

Risa looked upon her death, and she smiled. “I have Seen the end of this war, and it comes not at your hand.”

“Fool. Weak, and a fool.” She raised the blade.

Risa's voice was like a song through water, somehow felt in the bones rather than truly heard, and even her executioner paused before her as the last words dripped from her lips.

When bloodflower bloom across the vale

and the moon grow pink and pale

'Fore evil reigns o'er all the earth

will come a child of human birth

And when she pass a score of years

The Faery blood and Faery tears

shall rise in her, our vengeance sent

And then shall fall Maleficent

The blade came down.

In a tree, a small fairy child whispered, “Mama.”

#thepreciousthing

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su-nlt · 5 years ago

Text

Things Confirmed In Steven Universe: The Movie

New Gems: Spinel, unnamed uncorrupted gems

New Fusions: Steg, Alexandrite (new form) Opal (new form)

New Objects: Giant Injector Drill, Bio Poison, Rejuvinators

New Locations: Pinks Garden

New Songs: https://su-nlt.tumblr.com/post/187175460886/su-movie-soundtrack-list-revealed

Also this turned out to be like 4 pages long, so I inserted a read more link for everyone's convenience. Click to read more!

The opening of the movie mimics that of a classic Disney movie

It has been two years since the events of Change Your Mind, and, in accordance with his mental state, Steven has aged to look like a 16 year-old, as well as received a new outfit

Aside from the opening flashback, Jasper does not appear in the movie. Most sightings have just been of other Jaspers

This is the first movie in the series

The movie contains a total of 38 songs

WD wrote a book about Stevens adventure

PDs legs are back on Homeworld

Other Heaven and Earth Beetle gems can be seen on the beach planet

The Zircons are alive and free (they can be seen in a crowd shot on a green planet)

Spinel can been seen in one of the locations during Stevens broadcast

The Diamonds have allotted airtime

The Diamonds have disbanded their armies, liberated their colonies, refrained from shattering, and have practices better manners. Blue has also stopped using her crying power

The Diamonds have gotten better at showing affection

While recognizing Steven as his own person, the Diamonds still fawn over him like Pink

A warp from Earth to Homeworld has been established

Stevens new house has several new features, including

-a warp pad within a greenhouse and Gem computer

-Flags representing Earth and Homeworld

-An actual second floor (Stevens room used to just be a loft)

-a balcony attached to stevens bedroom

- A Lonely Blade poster, The Painting of Garnet and Steven, the MoonGoddess statue, the Space Train to the Cosmos CD, the KEEP box from Greg’s storage, a photo of the main CGs, the picture of Greg and Rose, a new game system, a glass of Pine Needle tea, a crystal gem logo, another picture of Connie, the Stephen mug, Steven’s old red shirt, and a few photos of the Temple have all been added to Stevens room

-The picture of Rose was moved from on top of the door to the side of the stairs

-A dining room table

-Centipeedle’s drawing hangs on Stevens fridge

- Roses broken sword is on display

-More planets and pictures

Steven uses his bubble to go down stairs

Connie and Steven are now in a relationship

Connie is interested in a space-related career

Cat Steven is now fully grown

Pearl is learning how to play the bass guitar

The chest in Lion’s mane is open

Lars now cooks for others

Lars hair has grown a bit

The Off-Colors are now on Earth

There's a bubble with a slice of cake in the temple

Bubbles can preserve food

In place of the barn, a community known as “Little Homeworld” has been made, as a place for the uncorrupted gems to live

Little Homeworld is 83% complete

Warp pads can be moved around

Amethyst and Steven have made up a handshake

Steven is no longer the shortest in the main squad

This is our first time seeing ‘original’ Amethyst

Amethyst didn't have a Diamond insignia when she first emerged

Amethysts size was not the only thing different about her when she first emerged. He limbs where segmented, her hair short, her outfit simplistic, and her intellect stunted

Amethyst considers the Uncorrupted gems and New Crystal Gems part of her family

Steven now runs in front of the group

A small house has been added to the lighthouse

Spinel (Pronounce SPIN-el) are made to be entertainers (ie. Best Friends)

Spinel’s design and animation appear to be inspired by a style over animation known as Rubberhose (popular in the 1920s-1940s) She also appears to inspired particularly by the characters of Mickey Mouse (original Spinel) and Oswald the Rabbit (Evil Spinel) judging by her buns/pigtails (How they are both always showing no matter the angle)

Spinel and Pearl know each other

Garnet's Gauntlets have her wedding rings on them

Spinels theme is electro-swing

Spinels can store objects in their gems

Spinels power is enhanced shape-shifting (which include the power to turn into a spinning top and turning her hands into giant fists)

The black lines on Spinels face resemble running mascara

Giant injectors exist, have Heart-Shaped gems at the top of them, and can fly

There hasn't been much combat since the events of CYM

Spinels gem cut is perfect

Spinels come in other colors

Spinel can move her eyes in different directions

Spinels squeak when they move

Items in gems gems stay with them after rejuvenation

In terms of ‘threat to Steven’ Lapis is still considered on the fence

Peridot doesn't know what rejuvenators are, implying that they don't exist/ aren't used in Era 2+

Blue Garnet’s outfit in the “Isn't it Love?” song sequence implies Sapphire is barefoot under her dress

Potent Biochemicals exist, which destroy organic life and organic materials, but does not affect gems

Rejuvenators , which are shaped like synths, can poof and ‘reset’ a gems memory, and were used to ‘correct’ gems how stepped out of line. However, the process can be somewhat easily reversed by unlocking a gems memory.

Judging by the title of her song (system/BOOT.pearl_final(3).Info ) this is the third time Pearl has been rebooted

Pearls are given a customization option whenever they first form, any are loyal to whoever activates the menu

The memories of Fusions are also reset when their components are reset

While Steven organic half is unaffected by the Rejuvenator, his gem was reset, causing his powers to be reset

The ability to access Lion's mane is a power exclusive to Steven, and is considered to be his easiest power

Spinel has abandonment issues

The Heaven and Earth Beetles engage in afternoon constitutionals

Until she learns ‘the truth’, every one of original Garnet’s lines in the movie is a question

The Uncorrupted gems wander around Beach City

Spinel does eat

Vidalia has made more Amethyst painting

Ronaldo's phone PIN is 989675979

The moment where Amethyst and Steven cheat as speed ball is a reference to the episode ‘Arcade Mania’

The moment where Steven pulls Amethyst out her hole in the Alpha Kindergarten is a reference the episode ‘On The Run’, where Pearl pulls Amethyst out of the Hole

Giant injectors are considered unstable, and are controlled through sound

The Warehouse is both a concert venue and safe house

Greg stores Sadie Killer shirts in his Storage Unit

Sadie Killer and the Suspect have gotten popular

Mike Krol (who guest starred in the episode ‘Last One Out of Beach City’) provided the bass, guitar, and drums for the song ‘Disobedient’

The majority of Uncorrupted gems are Quartzes

Amethyst considered Rose the love of Pearls life

Greg being uncomfortable about Amethyst shapeshifting into Rose is a reference to the episode ‘Maximum Capacity’

The moment where Garnet see ‘Rose’ at the concert is a reference to the episode ‘The Answer’

Pearl was metaphorically and literally freed when Rose left (Cant follow orders when the person who gives you them are gone)

Steven and Greg can fuse to form Steg

Stegs weapons include Stevens Shield, a dual Guitar, and his powers include levitation and the power to create shock waves

Pink had a garden on an asteroid, where she would play with Spinel

Pink used to be lonely on Homeworld

Earth was given to Pink by Yellow and Blue, but not White

Spinel used to entertain Pink as her ‘best friend’, but, without Spinel noticing, Pink grew bored with Spinel, and Pink eventually abandoned her in her Garden for 6,000 years

Spinel was left next to a patch of ‘Forget-Me-Nots’, a type of blue, white, and yellow flower

Other gem types can turn their gems

Steven is no longer surprised by Pinks actions

Gems can make their new forms somewhat taller or shorter

The shot of Connie sliding into Stevens house on Lion is a reference to the motorcycle slide from the movie ‘Akira’

Greg doesn't always wash his hands after using the bathroom

The Pizza Car has been dissolved

Alexandrite, Opal, a Bismuth all have new forms

This is the first time dripping blood has been shown in the show

The Rejuvenator has been busted

Gems can make physical objects part of their gem forms (ie. Garnets wedding rings)

The citizens of Beach City and the uncorrupted gems get along well

Connie's Sword can cut through metal

Steven believes he has changed in the last few years

Steven can summon multiple shields, change the shape of his bubble, use his bubble to create shock waves,form tiny bubbles around his fists, and fully levitate

Steve can make blood disappear with his healing powers

The gem at the top of injectors are their power source

Steven realizes that no matter what, his work will never be finished

Steven can regrow plants with his healing powers

Garnet says staying hydrated is important while smooching

Spinel is trying again at friendship, but believes she's already messed up too badly with Steven and the gang

The Diamonds were willing to move to Earth to spend more time with Steven

The Diamonds consider Homeworld boring without Steven

Yellow finds Spinel funny

The reprise of ‘Come Live With Us’ is a combination of the songs ‘Come Live With Us’ and ‘Found’

The Diamonds consider Earth disgusting

The shot of the Diamonds extending their hands to Spinel is a callback to the episode ‘Your Mother and Mine’ (when the Diamonds launched their final attack on Earth)

Spinel now lives with the Diamonds in place of Pink/Steven

The song ‘Finale’ is a reprise of the songs ‘Happily Ever After’ and ‘Change’

Beach City has been rebuilt since the events of the movie, but the cliff has a few new dents in it, and their are now large ravines under the city

Steven no longer has his pink jacket (or at least, he’ll have to get a new one)

Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Greg,and Connie put on a …...Broadway Musical? (Still not entirely sure if that canonical)

#steven universe #su movie #su movie spoilers #things confirmed in #sunlt

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twentiethcenturymoviesandtv · 4 years ago

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The Wizard of Oz: Facets of Film

After the story is written and the parts are cast, only one thing remains to get to the big screen: the moviemaking itself.

Today, our focus is on something beyond the basic elements of storytelling: the finished product, the movie-specific trimmings that add to the magic of The Wizard of Oz. We’re going to be looking at everything from camera work to costuming: in short, all the elements that make a film a film, and in some cases, can make the difference between a fun movie and a blockbuster classic.

Now wait a minute, you may say. Isn’t the important thing in a movie, (and movie analysis) the story and characters? Why bother with all of this stuff?

Frankly because the production of a movie isn’t exactly removed from the story it’s trying to tell.

When a movie is made, every element is there to help tell the story, to reveal things about the plot and characters to the audience. For example, the Wicked Witch is dressed in black clothes and a pointy hat, and is accompanied by ominous music, indicating that she’s our villain. Dorothy wears a farm-girl dress with pigtails indicating innocence and ‘normalcy’, and Glinda is decked out in an otherworldly, pink, poufy gown, demonstrating her otherworldly demeanor. Kansas is shot in browns and grays and Oz in dazzling color, showing us the stark contrast between the two worlds. All of these things have one thing in common: they’re telling you things about characters and the story that the film doesn’t have to in words.

There’s no moment where anyone makes sure that it’s clear that The Wicked Witch is evil, the movie has already told us so. No one remarks on Dorothy’s naiveté. The movie doesn’t need to tell us that Glinda is magical, or that Kansas is boring and Oz is exciting, because we as viewers have already inferred that based on the clues that the filmmakers have already dropped.

The production of a movie is, in fact, directly connected to the story it’s trying to tell in the same way that wheels are connected to a car: the story and characters are the vehicle itself, but you’re not going anywhere with it until you’ve added the method of movement.

Does that make sense?

See, all of these elements, camerawork, sets, etc. are tools of visual shorthand. Their job is to tell the story in ways that the audience immediately understands without having to be told explicitly through dialogue. The quality of this shorthand not only helps make a movie more understandable, it also makes it more enjoyable.

So that leads us to our question today.

Does The Wizard of Oz use their storytelling devices well?

To be honest, yes.

It’s kind of a given.

For this movie to have held up this long, it has to have been doing something right. There’s clearly a lot of hard work put in to making sure that the movie looks and sounds good, making narrative sense and remaining coherent and consistent. Every facet fits together perfectly, and yet none of it takes up more than its place, emphasizing Dorothy and her friends without overshadowing them. Every shot, costume, set and effect works, and was chosen for a reason: to make this story clear and enjoyable to the audience.

This leads us to our next question:

How exactly does The Wizard of Oz use their storytelling devices? How do they use the tools they have available, and where?

To answer that question, we’re going to be looking at a handful of the elements that make up a movie: specifically camerawork, sets, costumes, special effects, music and performances.

For starters, let’s take a closer look at something that oftentimes we as moviegoers overlook: the importance of good cinematography.

A camera serves more of a purpose than to simply film the action. The way a director uses a camera can tell the audience a lot, using some shots to emphasize danger, some adventure, and some comfort. Filmmakers use edits and progression of shots to help tell the story, to move the audience’s vision so that it is always centered on the main action while also helping to set the mood or leave a visual impression on the audience. The camerawork in The Wizard of Oz does all of that remarkably well, with striking images of the Emerald City overlooking the poppies, the tight shots in the Haunted Forest, and the terrifying wide shot of the Twister in the opening. These images immediately evoke an emotional response from the audience in turn, helping us to identify with the emotions that the characters are experiencing.

There’s one other shot that is specific to this film that bears mentioning in this discussion: What I call the Oz shot.

You know the one.

When Dorothy steps from her Kansas house to Oz, there is a wide shot that perfectly encapsulates the transition between the browns and grays of the Kansas world to the vibrant colors and overall oddness of Oz. That shot is the turning point of the movie, demonstrating immediately the difference in tone and visual style. It’s meaningful, and more importantly, it’s memorable without taking attention away from our main character. It’s probably the best known shot in the movie, once again bringing that sense of wonder and adventure to the audience through clever use of the camera.

Other stunning and unforgettable shots are sprinkled throughout the film: the aforementioned first glimpse of the Emerald City, and the first appearance of the Wizard himself are excellent, effectively showing the scale of the City and the impressiveness of the Wizard. The shot of Dorothy and the Tin Man and Scarecrow in the forest before meeting the Lion is a good claustrophobic shot that makes the audience feel tense, but not too tense. Even early on, the house in the Twister elicits a response, a genuine feeling of awe and even fear for Dorothy’s sake, just as Dorothy singing on the tractor can inspire feelings of understanding and wistfulness in the audience. Like I said, the mark of a good filmmaker (and cameraman!) is helping the audience empathize with the characters, and to a smaller degree, feel what they are feeling.

Camerawork can only get you so far though, and it’s meaningless if there’s nothing there to shoot. The visuals of The Wizard of Oz are so well-ingrained, it’s impossible to imagine Dorothy without her ruby slippers (originally silver in the novel, changed to red to show up better on the Technicolor film). One of the strokes of genius in this film is the iconic imagery: the Yellow Brick Road, the Ruby Slippers, the Emerald City, and especially the costumes.

As I’ve mentioned previously, the costume work in The Wizard of Oz not only looks good, it brings that final element of whimsy and magic to an already magical land. The Wicked Witch is dressed to frighten, Glinda’s glittery gown is beautiful and comforting, and the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion’s makeup and costumes are absolutely essential to the characters, maintaining the level of humanity for us to relate to while also being, very clearly, a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion. The level of makeup necessary for looking ‘different’ while also allowing for the wide range of expression is impressive, and really helps them come alive as characters. The costumes of the denizens of Munchkin Land and the Emerald City stand out from each other as uniquely quirky and connected to their surroundings, and the Wizard himself appropriately looks like a cross between our world and Oz.

By contrast, Dorothy looks out of place in this magical world, and even out of place in Kansas. Her dress is something of our world, diverging at the feet with those iconic ruby slippers, coming together in an unforgettable character image. Even before Oz and the slippers, she was different. It was another stroke of brilliance that she look a little ‘shiny and new’ in Kansas, a direct dissimilarity with the careworn and grounded costumes of her aunt, uncle, and the farmhands. Even Ms. Gulch’s costume, while less distinct than her Oz counterpart’s, is dark and stern, foreshadowing her role in the story. Assisting with that transition is the musical score used for her arrival: the same music used for the appearance of The Wicked Witch.

And how about that score, right?

The music of The Wizard of Oz really speaks for itself. Somewhere Over the Rainbow has long been hailed one of the greatest movie songs of all time (for good reason), and the other tunes are extremely catchy, but even taking out the musical numbers themselves, the score of this film is outstanding, with the Witch’s theme being just one of many memorable instrumental pieces throughout the movie. Throughout the film, the music rises and falls exactly where it needs to, always fitting the mood and matching the characters’ emotions and expressions, once again helping the audience’s own responses match up to those of the characters. The score really heightens the emotion and emphasizes the grandeur of some of the visuals, especially the special effects.

Let’s talk about those for a minute.

The twister alone is one of the best special effects from Hollywood in the 1930s, the house spinning in a cyclone being not only a striking image, but also impressively done at the time, to say nothing else of the aforementioned landing and reveal of Oz itself. The Wizard’s Head is appropriately frightening and awe-inspiring, and the effects used to introduce the Witch (the fireballs and puff of smoke, and later her flying monkeys) are quite effective as well. (Yes, the broomstick flying isn’t quite as convincing, but we’ll cut them some slack.) Even when the effects aren’t quite ‘believable’, such as Glinda’s pink bubble, they all do serve a purpose: fully committing to Dorothy’s dream fairy-tale land, stoking our imaginations, and most importantly, assisting with the performances.

Ah yes, the performances. We’ll get to those in a minute. First, we need something to place those performances in.

The sets of The Wizard of Oz range from quaint to frightening, from comforting to expansive, all pretty impressive, especially considering that they were all built on a sound stage. The landscapes of Kansas, the poppy field in Oz, the Emerald City itself (bonus for having everything be green), the Haunted Forest and the Witch’s castle all manage to come with their own identity, and just like those costumes, manage to be memorable years later. The Wizard’s throne room is spacious and dark, different from the tight darkness of the Haunted Forest, and the cold unease of the Witch’s Castle. Like I’ve said previously, the dissonance between the dull browns of Dorothy’s bedroom in Kansas to the bright colors and vivid imagery of Oz is particularly well-realized.

Every setting in this film has its own uniqueness about it, something that sets it apart from the other locations. This sense of individuality, of constantly changing scenery, really helps us note the differences, and continues to do what all of these facets are meant to do: focus on the story, characters, and performances. With every scene, we instantly feel the atmosphere and pick up on everything we need to know about these places: The Witch’s Castle is scary, the Emerald City is majestic, the Wizard’s throne room is frightening and grand, and once again, we feel and react in time with the characters.

There’s more to a good, immersive movie experience than sets, costumes and music, though. We’ve got one last aspect to look at, possibly the most important one of all: performances.

When you come right down to it, the special effects, sets and costumes don’t really mean anything if the characters can’t pull it off. In the end, it’s on the actors to try to sell not only their surroundings and story, but the characters themselves, everything from the personality to the emotions. In the realm of film, a character tends to be married to the performance: you can’t have one without the other. Once again, The Wizard of Oz manages it with style.

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale is perfect casting, managing to play a young emotional girl with spirit and strength. She’s as compassionate as she is determined, and the portrayal of the character is heartfelt and sometimes heart wrenching. (Special mention goes to Judy Garland’s signature song: Somewhere Over the Rainbow.) Dorothy is a very expressive character, and her emotions come across very clearly quite often, from shock to distress, to joy, to fear.

Of course, Dorothy isn’t the only character done well.

Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch is another standout performance. Everything from her sneer to her cackle is delightfully evil and memorably so, perfectly solidifying the character as one of the greatest baddies of all time. The switch between the understated Ms. Gulch and the Large Hamlike tendencies of the Witch is absolutely phenomenal.

The talent isn’t just the main characters, though. The supporting cast is just as unforgettable as the hero and villain. Despite acting through a layer of makeup (and goofiness), the expressions and emotions displayed by the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion all come through remarkably well. Ray Bolger’s ragdoll movements combined with his flashes of intelligence add a lot to the character, and Jack Haley brings a fantastic mildness to the man made of metal. Bert Lahr manages to make his lion costume totally non-threatening, and his line delivery has to be heard to be believed. Despite the somewhat unwieldy costumes, Dorothy’s trio comes across as perfectly realized as she herself does. Even the Wizard comes across perfectly as flustered and bumbling and Frank Morgan’s turn as miscellaneous characters in Oz are all different enough that it’s a perfect demonstration of his talent over the span of one movie.

Every character in The Wizard of Oz comes across exactly as they should: characters in a fairytale. Each performance is perfectly suited to each character and the type of movie that they are in: a fantasy story aimed at children. It’s not subtle, but it doesn’t have to be. Dorothy is clearly good, the Wicked Witch is clearly evil. The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion are all friendly and helpful, and the Wizard, Glinda, and Dorothy’s family are all acted exactly as they are intended to be: Supporting cast in a children’s adventure, yet understandable and lovable for all ages.

No, these performances are not going to have the same level of nuance as Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. They shouldn’t be. If they did, it would go totally against the tone of the film.

The acting in The Wizard of Oz is perfectly done, matching the whimsy and magic of the rest of the film. The characters are expressive, their reactions are clear, and we, the audience, feel an immediate connection with them. That’s the job of an actor, as well as the jobs of the film-makers in general.

The filmmakers in The Wizard of Oz definitely knew what they were doing. Everything from the performances to the camerawork gets across every emotion and aspect of the story without having to explain what we should be feeling. The sets and costumes feel unreal and fairy-taleish because that’s exactly what this is. It feels like a storybook, simultaneously comforting and exciting, and the ending feels good every time.

The Wizard of Oz has long been hailed as one of, if not the greatest movies ever made, and even just looking at filmmaking alone, it’s not really exaggeration to say that. It all fits together perfectly, story, characters, genre and filmmaking, to create the legendary movie that we’ve all known and loved for eighty years.

It’s a totally genuine film, sappy, cheesy and earnest, and it really works.

Of course, no movie comes around accidently. All this work has to have come from somewhere, right?

Join me next time as we discuss the Facets of Filmmaking: the Behind the Scenes of The Wizard of Oz. Leave a message in the ask box if you have any thoughts of your own, and thanks so much for reading. I’ll see you in the next article!

#The Wizard of Oz #The Wizard of Oz 1939 #1939 #30s #Film #Movies #PG #Fantasy #Adventure #Judy Garland #Margaret Hamilton #Frank Morgan #Ray Bolger #Jack Haley #Bert Lahr #Billie Burke #Victor Fleming

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clownsgobeepbeep · 4 years ago

Text

Tender and Culinary Herbs

I...I have no words nor excuses for this being...extremely late...

Anyways, I was once again too excited to post this, so if it sucks it’s either ‘cause it sucks or because I rushed+didn’t bother editing uwu Somehow...this still ended up super long...sorry

I’ll be tagging @grotesquegabby and @post-itpenny because some of yours are in this

Part Thirteen

“How...how did she…” Cantarella blinked several times before eyeing the crowd around her, eyes now wide before she shifted into her shadow self.

Before anybody could react, she made sure to vanish away, going as far away as she could from the circus grounds.

Once she had reached what she deemed was far enough, Cantarella set herself down on the ground, realizing that she stood near the beach.

“I can’t believe it.” she whispered to herself in disbelief, reaching behind to soothe her back as she surprisingly still felt the pain of her back ripping open. “I can’t fucking believe it. What will Risus think…”

“Quite strange seeing you this way.”

In an instant, Cantarella whipped around to defend herself from whoever it was had now found her, but her guard was dropped down in the slightest bit once she laid eyes on none other than ‘James’.

“What are you doing here?” Cantarella sighed in relief before placing a hand on her chest.

“The real question is, what are you doing here?” the man asked as he approached her, eyeing her entire self. “Last I remembered, you were 4’6 in heels and blonde with hazel eyes.”

“Well, I’m not anymore.” Cantarella forced a fake grin. “You don’t mind, do you? Having a daughter with blue hair and pink eyes?”

“Pink eyes look so much better than hazel ones.” Ryder booped the girl’s nose, making her blink in surprise before watching as he made his way towards the beach now. “So, tell me. What happened?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does, actually.”

Cantarella stared at her father for a moment before averting her gaze.

“She...she found a way out.”

“Did she now?” Ryder peered over at Cantarella who still did not dare look his way. “How disappointing.”

Finally, Cantarella looked up and at Ryder who was now the one that could not bring himself to look at her.

“That mouse is nothing but a pathetic excuse for life, a waste of stardust, yet she managed to find a way to take you out of her body.” Ryder posited as his usual expression disappeared, now something much more stern replacing it, something quite unlike his character. “How are you mine again?”

“It wasn’t my fault.” Cantarella finally spoke up. “She couldn’t have done it alone...she, she must have had some kind of help.”

“Help or not, you’re here and she’s with her family who is no doubt nursing her back to health at this very moment.” Ryder spat out before turning to look at Cantarella with a deep frown. “She was meant to be asleep while we did as Risus asked, but once she’s back in health-”

“You’re not afraid of her, are you?” Cantarella interrupted. “Because, if you really think we’re these powerful beings, and Risus can do anything, why are you guys so afraid of her? She’s just some pipsqueak who can’t even decide what guy to hook up with.”

“We are not afraid of her, or the others.” Ryder claimed. “We are only being...cautious.”

“Cautious my ass.”

“Watch your mouth.”

“I mean, seriously! You guys can’t continue with your plan with her still awake? What’s so wrong about-”

“This is exactly the reason why I told Risus you would only be harming our plans!” Ryder shouted over Cantarella’s voice, making her back away the slightest bit. “You’re but a child who’ll never understand. Can’t even do a single task right.”

“But I can-”

“I should have saved some other sibling of yours, one with potential.”

Cantarella’s eyes widened at that statement, right before she furrowed her eyebrows and stepped towards Ryder.

“I have potential,” she started with a deep frown that matched his. “And more. I’ll fucking show you.”

“I highly doubt you can.” Ryder lifted one of his hands, admiring it as if it held more importance. “But fine, do as you want. I have other business to attend to, such as making sure things don’t get even further out of hand.”

“I will.” Cantarella clenched her fists. “Hope you’re not further disappointed when I prove I can do even more than you ever have.”

Finally, Ryder turned with a scowl meant for Cantarella, but he found that she was already gone.

_____________

“He’ll fucking see. He’ll fucking see what I’m capable of.” Cantarella grumbled to herself after having left her father, now making her way through the pier that she realized was not as crowded as usual. “I’ll fucking show him just how better than him I can be.”

Her fists were tightly clenched at her sides as she stormed down the path, ignoring the few glances she got every now and then. She then, however, stopped walking at the sound of a laugh, this making her look up and towards the front where she saw the arcade.

Cantarella blinked her eyes for a moment, then squinting them to take a better look at who she now recognized.

That crazy hair of red could be recognized from everywhere.

She saw the male laughing to himself as he played on one of the large games, clearly beating the stranger he was competing against.

And with this, a smirk crept onto Cantarella’s face.

_____________

“Where did you go!? Did you actually go on a trip!? Are you okay!?”

“Cordie,” Jelly gave a bit of a laugh, rubbing her daughter’s back as the latter tightly held onto her. “I’m alright. I’m right here, aren’t I?”

“Yes.” the girl gave a nod with a pout, then rubbing her cheek into Jelly’s side. “But! But! We thought Ula was okay! And it turns out she was this evil mime!”

“I know, I know.” Jelly ruffled Cordelia’s pigtails, then kissing the top of her head. “But Ula is now resting, as should you.”

“B-but-!”

“Cordie.” Jelly caressed her face. “I’ll take you to the tent where Davey and your dad are at so you can rest. Okay?”

“Okay…”Cordelia nodded again, then clinging onto Jelly who stood up with the girl in her arms.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, mommy’s here.” Jelly whispered to her, now walking away from the circus bench she had been sitting on before making her way out of the tent.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you’re actually here!”

“Maggie!” Jelly exclaimed before she and Cordelia were embraced by her friend, the two then pulling away to make sure the other really was the other.

“What happened to you!? I thought you had gone on some trip or whatever!”

“I’ll explain later.” Jelly told her as they walked through the circus grounds. “I’m just going to be taking Cordelia with Lennie and Davey, then I’m gonna go check on Ula.”

“Okay, sure.” Maggie nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk to you in a bit, I need to go over with Vespers right now.”

“Vespers is also here?”

“Yeah. Some things happened and Atlas needed support.”

“Oh, I see.” Jelly cleared her throat before giving a sigh. “See you in a bit.”

She once again continued her way through the circus grounds, momentarily glancing over at the tent where she knew Ula was currently resting. Jelly finally reached the tent where her husband and son would be, walking in to stop and find a surprise.

“Schrader!?” Jelly exclaimed in a whisper once she saw Davey fast asleep, and he was slumbering on the chest belonging to Schrader who gave a small wave. “How...how...But I-”

“Schrader!?” Cordelia immediately lifted her head, then turning to give a gasp once her eyes landed on Schrader. “Schrader!”

“Okay, okay, relax Cordie.” Jelly quietly chuckled before setting Cordelia down, the latter running over to Schrader before giving him a big hug, yet one that was careful so that she wouldn’t awaken her brother.

“Boy, where were you!?” Cordelia whispered while hugging him tightly. “I missed you! What’s been heckin’ going on with you!?”

“Schrader?” Jelly called out to him, having Cordelia quiet down for a moment. “Do you know where Lennie left off to?”

“He said he was gonna go check on Ula and you.” Schrader whispered as he hugged Davey and Cordelia, making sure to rub her back in a soothing manner. “I’m guessing he went with Ula first.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Jelly nodded as she looked at the trio who all snuggled with each other. “Well, I’ll be going now. I’ll make sure to drop by, I just need-”

“Don’t worry.” Schrader gave a bit of a smile. “I’ll be staying here for now, I’ll watch the kids. Besides, I’m not exactly allowed to go out.”

“Why is that?”

“Everyone suggested I rest up for now,” Schrader slightly shrugged. “And uh, they don’t want Ula hearing or seeing me right now.”

“What?” Jelly blinked with furrowed eyebrows. “Why?”

“Um, Mrs. D’Vitt...maybe you should go talk to Maggie and the others first.” Schrader cleared his throat, appearing to be somewhat uncomfortable….or just unsure, nervous. “You’ve...missed out on a few things that I think would sound better coming from them.”

For a moment, Jelly remained silent as she stared at Schrader and then her children. She pondered at the thought of her missing out on events that could have harmed them, harmed the rest of her loved ones. The thought of...the blue thing nearing them...

“Okay. You just…” she started. “You just call me if anything happens. I’m gonna go get updated on things, even though I can kind of assume what’s been going on.”

“Sure. You be careful.”

“Of course.” Jelly nodded, finally turning to walk out of the tent before finally making her way over to where she imagined Zeta was. _____________

It was clear to everybody but, nearly everybody was quite shaken up after what was witnessed.

Vespers, he was no doubt part of this group. He was concerned for his cousin after he was hit where it hurt, he was concerned about his niece who was possessed or whatever by a girl everybody thought they knew, he was concerned about his family.

“They’re with your parents right now, remember?”

“Right, right. Sorry about that, I just am so worried right now. But also damn confused.”

“About what?”

Vespers had decided to call his husband as soon as possible, warn him of all possibilities after what went on and was no doubt going to continue.

“Cozzy, the things I just explained!”

“Vesp, you’re not making-” “Ryder and the spider bitch are out!” Vespers shouted into his phone, soon being met with the sound of silence coming from Cosmos’ end of the line. “Coz...they’re out. We don’t know how it happened, I mean, we know who? I, it’s just...Cosmos, the kids.

“I’m taking Phoebe out of class early.” Cosmos finally spoke. “Do you think you could call your parents or should I?”

“Um...you should call them. I need to be with Atlas right now.”

“Why? Is he okay? Is anyone hurt?”

“I’ll explain everything when you get here.” Vespers held his breath for a moment, right before looking to the side once he heard the sound of footsteps approaching his location. “Just keep the kids and yourself safe. Zeta, Maggie and some...person named Logium are trying to handle things right now. I assume they’re another one of those elders.”

“Alright. I’ll call you once I have Phoebe.”

“Okay.”

“Just sit tight for now. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Talking with Cosmos, huh?”

Vespers ended his call before putting his phone back into his pocket as he now looked at the person who had decided to come to him.

“Yeah.” Vespers nodded as he looked at his cousin. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” Atlas nodded with a sigh, leaning against a nearby tree. “There’s just a lot to process right now.”

“Agreed.” Vespers nodded. “How’s Ula?”

“I haven’t gone back just yet. Especially after...Schrader.” Atlas glanced down at the ground, slightly shuffling his feet. “And then Bubbles is back…”

“Yeah.”

“And then Ula told me that Basil and Flora are actually her and Schrader’s future kids.” Atlas stated without missing a beat, never noticing his cousins’ eyes widen before he abruptly turned his head to look at Atlas. “It’s really eating me up inside, I don’t wanna be the reason they don’t exist. If they exist, are me and Ula not meant to be together? Or-”

“How, about,” Vespers interrupted Atlas, placing a hand on Atlas’ shoulder. “You go and talk to Ula? I think it’s best you guys have a conversation, again.”

“I mean, I guess I could-”

“Great! Now go, I’m pretty sure she needs you.” Vespers pat Atlas’ back. “Seriously. Meanwhile, I’m going to the kitchen.”

“Kitchen? What for?”

“I need a damn coffee.” Vespers finalized before walking away, leaving Atlas alone.

Atlas watched his cousin go, right before he turned to look at the pink tent where he had been much earlier. Now that he looked at it once again, he noticed that there was a new addition: a single chair with a child sitting on it. An all too familiar child who no longer smiled but instead sadly looked down at her feet that she slowly swung, almost in an attempt to appear fine. Atlas knew she wasn’t alright, not in the slightest, not after he saw the condition her brother was in again.

“Hey there.” Atlas quietly greeted once he made his way over to the tent, standing beside the child who barely looked up at him with her head that she raised just a bit. “Um...How, uh...how’s, Twoey?”

“Okay.” the girl replied with a shrug, her head still bowed down as Atlas fiddled with his fingers.

“You uh, eaten anything yet?”

“No.”

“Is it okay for me to ask...where you brother is?”

He was soon met with the sound of silence, no kind of response coming from the girl who only ceased the movement of her legs.

“He’s with Ula.”

“In...inside?”

“Well where else is Ula?” Flora replied in a sarcastic tone that dripped with a lack of expression.

Atlas gave a soft nod, clearing his throat and even tugged at his collar, right before speaking again.

“I hope you don’t mind...but I’ll be going in.”

“Why would I?” Flora finally lifted her head to look up at Atlas, this sending a shiver down his spine as he noticed how dead her eyes looked. Even her colors were starting to fade away like they did with Basil.

Atlas didn’t know what to say next, deciding to now walk into the tent but stopping before he was seen by those inside. Peeking out of the “wall” situated by the tent’s entrance, his eyes caught the sight of Ula still laying in bed, stitched up back his way as she softly sang to the other person inside.

“As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you . Every thrill has gone, wasn’t too much fun at all.”Ula cleared her throat, never realizing that Atlas slowly made his way over to her bed. “But I’ll be there for you, as the world falls down.”

He heard Ula sing just up to that line, a sigh now escaping her as he could tell that she caressed Basil’s greying features. Now that Atlas was much closer, he could see how terrible Basil looked, how Ula protectively kept her an arm wrapped around him while the other moved his now brown locks out of his face.

“I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you Valentine evenings, though we're strangers 'til now-”

“Is that how you’re gonna sing to our kids?”

Ula stopped singing before her hand that caressed Basil instead wrapped itself around him, bringing his frail body closer to hers as she turned her head to look behind. Once she realized who it was, Ula’s hold on Basil loosened.

“You’re back.”

“Yeah.” Atlas nodded before walking around the bed, sitting down right beside where he now had Basil’s back face him. “You’re not disappointed, are you?”

“Of course not.” Ula softly shook her head. “I just thought, after…”

“No, I wanna be with you.” Atlas reached over, hesitating when remembering that Ula’s hands were busy with Basil. “I just...kinda think we should talk.”

At this, Ula shut her eyes with a bit of a sigh.

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry,” Ula finally opened her eyes, glancing up at Atlas. “It’s not that I’m...avoiding a talk. I just...I don’t know.”

“Ula.” Atlas finally grabbed her hand, holding it with both of his. “If you’re not up to it, I can...leave, or sit here quietly.”

“No, we do need to talk. We’ve been needing to talk.” Ula gave another sigh. “I can’t keep pushing you away. I tell myself that I’m not, but I am, and I’m so sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Atlas gave her a heartfelt smile. “There’s some things I need to tell you Ula, especially after your honesty.”

“Oh, Atlas-”

“I need you to know that I forgive you for what happened between you and Schrader.” Atlas squeezed Ula’s hand. “It...it obviously hurts that you kissed him-”

“I didn’t kiss him.” Ula interrupted. “I stopped myself before I could, because I would never do that to you.”

“Ula, look. The point is, the point is that I forgive you.” Atlas held his breath for a moment, his eyes peering down at Basil who he somehow has just remembered was still between them. “And...that I know you still…”

“Atlas.”

“I know you still have feelings for Schrader.”

“Atlas-!”

“No, Ula.” Atlas cut her off as he shook her head. “There is no point in you denying that and frankly...I don’t want to hear any of it.”

“Atlas, I only-”

“You’re fawning all over Basil.”

“I’m like this because he’s dying, Atlas.” Ula claimed as she took her hand back, coddling Basil once more as he coughed. “He’s dying because I’m not going to be with Schrader.”

“Ula-”

“I’m not going to see Schrader. I’m not going to talk to Schrader. I’m not sure if you heard, but Schrader is fucking dead.” Ula slightly sniffed, blinking her eyes a few times. “And even if he was alive, Schrader would be out of our lives for good. Before he was killed in front of me, he told me he planned on going back to Australia because there was nothing for him to do here.”

Atlas remained silent, staring at Ula who had shut her eyes. For a moment, Atlas thought that what was best was for him to leave, give her some time...again.

“Ula.” Atlas spoke up. “How many?”

“What?” Ula opened her eyes, staring at him with eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“How many...how many kids do you want?” Atlas questioned, his cheeks flaring up as he avoided Ula’s gaze that slowly became as flustered.

“Atlas, you-”

“Three?” Atlas told her. “I-I could settle for three.”

“Three?” Ula now joined in. “You sure you could deal with that much?”

“I mean, maybe have...breaks in between each one.” Atlas slightly chuckled to himself, relieved as Ula now gave him a tiny smile.

“Well...do you have any name preferences?” Ula quietly giggled to herself, eyes sadly looking over at Basil.

“I...Huh…”Atlas brought a hand up to the back of his neck.

That’s when Ula felt a shift in her bed, slow but it was still felt as she realized that it was Basil attempting to roll onto his back. With the only amount of strength he had, Basil ignored his pain and tried to lift a hand, feeling as Ula grabbed it in an attempt to lower it.

“Basil, pumpkin-” she began, Basil somehow ripping his arm away from hers so that he could hold it close to Atlas’ face. “Basil please-”

“Just, just let him.” Atlas grabbed Basil’s wrist, knowing very well that he needed the support. In that moment he felt Basil go limp, grateful that he didn’t have to hold his arm up alone.

Basil’s fingers quivered in pain, but that didn’t stop him from closing all of his fingers but the middle and pointer, these being crossed together as Ula recognized what he was doing.

“R.” Ula said. “He’s signing.”

Basil’s fingers now moved down with the rest, the pointer and thumb touching.

“O.”

His three middle fingers were now lifted together.

“W.”

“Rowan.”

“Huh?”

“He’s spelling out Rowan.” Atlas posited, gently placing Basil’s arm down, patting him in a comforting manner after making sure it was alright.

“Rowan.” Ula repeated. “Rowan...I like it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Ula nodded, a much wider smile now gracing her pink cheeks. “A little fawn named Rowan sounds nice.”

“Boy or girls?”

“I’d want at least one boy.” Ula gave a content hum. “A boy that looks just like you. Freckles and all.”

Atlas smiled at this, locking eyes with Ula who looked at ease.

“My mom would be so pissed if we made her a grandmother.” Ula now laughed. “She says grandkids make her feel old. She can sometimes be as vain as Mama Carol.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I even imagine that at our wedding-” Ula then stopped herself, somehow the thought of her walking down the aisle to marry Atlas was what made her really blush, and not the thought of them having children together.

“Why’d you stop? Go on.” Atlas grinned.

“Um, well...I know that when an engagement happens, she’s gonna be mad. She’s gonna feel like you’re taking me away from her.” Ula chuckled to herself, her bottom lip being bit for a brief moment. “But she’s gonna be the first one in line for everything. Wedding theme, invitations, cocktail hour, ceremony, flowers, dress, rings.”

Atlas then noticed Ula’s eyes become watery, so she shut them in order to prevent any tears from spilling out.

“Hey, hey don’t cry.”

“I’m fine.” Ula grabbed the hand that Atlas brought to her face, wiping the corners of her eyes. “I’m just...emotional. I’m here laying on my side unable to move yet again, with a boy who won’t exist and my boyfriend who I dream of marrying one day.”

Ula then wiped her own tears.

“I sound like a stupid school girl.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Atlas whispered. “I like hearing you talk like this.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah.” Atlas reassured her, his face soon becoming softer. “Ula.”

“Yeah?”

“Trust me when I say that I’m not going anywhere.” Atlas stated, fingers running through his own hair as he readied himself while trying to discreetly ready Ula. “I’m sticking with you through all of this, even if you don’t like it.”

“Even when I’m being a bitch?”

“You’re not…”Atlas quietly laughed to himself before nodding. “No matter what, we’re in this together. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ula nodded back. “But, if you grow a beard like your dad’s we’re through.”

“Ula!”

“Kidding!” Ula exclaimed. “I at least will just never kiss you.”

“That’s mean.”

“Whatever.” Ula laughed, right before taking notice of how the corners of Atlas’ lips slightly drooped. “Is there something wrong?”

“Ula.” Atlas took in a gulp, taking Ula’s hand into his. “There’s something I need to tell you about. I would have waited until things were over for sure, but it’s...a little urgent.”

“Okay.” Ula somewhat gulped, nodding in response. “Go ahead.” _____________

Now that Jelly had arrived to where she was told was Zeta’s tent, after some wandering around of course, she released a deep breath while her hands tugged at her skirt, unconsciously wrinkling the material.

“Are you sure you don’t want tea? Something to eat maybe?”

“I don’t want to eat anything.” Jelly plainly spoke, eyes staring emptily into the distance that was merely a side of the tent she resided in. “Jells-Bells,”

Jelly felt a hand be placed on hers, prompting her to release her skirt and look to the side where she locked eyes with Maggie.

“When’s the last time you ate something?”

“When’s the last time I was here?” was Jelly’s way of replying. “How long was I in that void? While Ula was, what, being…”

“All that matters,” Maggie now took Jelly’s hand, squeezing it before giving her a heartfelt smile. “Is that all of you are back here, and Ula...Ula is recovering.”

“Recovering. Right.” Jelly took her hand away from Maggie, using it to go back to grasping her skirt in a concerned manner. “Where even is Lennie?”

“Whether you like it or not, he’s been in the kitchen making you a peanut butter sandwich.” Maggie sighed as she saw Jelly turn her attention back into the nothing. “Jelly.”

“What?”

“She’s going to be alright.” Maggie placed her hand on Jelly’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“Maggie.” Jelly’s breath hitched as she was deep in thought. “I nearly lost Ula twice. I’d rather this third time not be the charm.”

“You’re not losing her. I know that all of these things have someone not been available for me to see, but I just know Ula’s going to be okay. She’s in bed, probably still with Ama, possibly even Atlas. When the time comes, she’s gonna get a visit from Schrader who’s so desperate to see her, that poor boy.”

“As concerned as I am about Schrader and the fact that I was told he had been killed,” Jelly laughed to herself, eyes still looking rather disturbed. “There’s still that kid out there, probably lurking around to see how to get one of of us. Ryder is doing who knows what, as well as Missy.”

“And Risus.”

“What?”

“Risus.” Maggie repeated, somewhat hesitating to tell Jelly more. “It’s another one of the elders.”

“And who the fuck is Risus?” Jelly turned to Maggie again, eyebrows furrowed. “Maggie…”

“Oh look, Lennie’s here.” Maggie cleared her throat, standing up before she forced a smile at the clown who walked into the tent with a tray containing tea and sandwiches for Jelly.

“How’s my Jelly-Bean?” Lennie asked as he turned to his wife, a feeling of hurt in his chest once he noticed how melancholic she looked. “I see…”

“Um, how about...I give you guys some time alone?” Maggie took a step away from Jelly so that Lennie could place his tray on the table between the two’s seats. “I need to go talk to Logium.

“Logium? Is that another of those elders?” Jelly sighed. “You didn’t sound too happy when mentioning that Risus one.”

“Logium is the one who brought Schrader back.” Lennie replied, taking her hand in both of his. “They’re a good one.”

Jelly looked at Lennie with sad eyes, then glancing over at Maggie.

“Go ahead, I’ll be alright.” Jelly made a ‘shoo’ motion towards Maggie. “Go with Logium, or Zeta, or whatever.

“I’ll come back in a bit.” Maggie told Lennie who nodded at her, soon making her way out of the tent as Lennie sat on the chair nearest to Jelly.

“You’re looking blue.” Lennie quietly chuckle in an attempt to make Jelly laugh, seeing how her face had turned the slightest bit blue due to her emotions. “How about you have some tea to calm you? It’s valerian root, Ula’s told me it’s good for situations like this one.”

Jelly gave no response, except for turning to Lennie with another sigh.

“I know you won’t want to eat the sandwiches I made, but please, at least have the tea.” Lennie reached over to hold Jelly’s hand again, finally feeling as she squeezed his hand. “I’m also worried about her and everything else, but, let’s just be glad that she’s her and that we haven’t heard of the other asses.”

“I wouldn’t be glad about not having heard of Ryder.” Jelly muttered out before letting go of Lennie’s hand, grabbing the teacup that Lennie poured tea into. “That bastard has all kinds of tricks. I worry about Davey and Cordie, my mother was already hurt badly by him as was Ula.”

“I would not be interrupting anything, now would I?” a new voice was heard, making Jelly and Lennie turn around to face the new person that made their way into the tent.

“Zeta, hi.” Lennie greeted as he watched the woman approach them, pulling a seat so that she could stand in front of them. “What brings you here?”

“If it is alright with the two of you, I believe there are some things we must discuss.” Zeta posited before her eyes landed on Jelly specifically. “But, I can wait for some other time. It is important, but knowing or not knowing will n-”

“Just...just say it.” Jelly interrupted her after having taken a sip of her tea. “Just rip off the band-aid so we can get it over with. I doubt things could get any worse than they already are.”

“First off, I received word from Ferry and Ace sometime after the party held for Ula.” Zeta started. “Their triplets are nowhere to be found. There is no trace of them anywhere.”

“Oh my god,” Lennie frowned. “Do you think it could have been…?”

“We suspect so, yes.” Zeta nodded, and even though he expression remained as its usual stoic one, there was still a hint of sorrow. “But ever since the presumed time of arrival, we have had no idea where she has gone off to.”

“Who exactly is we?” Jelly questioned, setting her teacup down to now run a hand through her hair.

“We, the elders. With the exception of Risus.”

“So, of course, Risus is the bad one of the batch.” Jelly grabbed a bunch of her hair, struggling to not pull it right out. “I don’t want to hear more about them until they’re dead.”

“Then should I stop?” Zeta held her breath for a moment, now reaching out to take Jelly’s hand out from her hair, now holding it. “Jelly, Risus’ attention is mainly on Ula because of what she is.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” now Lennie spoke up with a frown. “Is there something wrong, or, what’s there about Ula that Risus is interested in?”

“First off, I need to explain that Ula, is something referred to as a fixed point in time. No matter the timeline, Ula is meant to exist.”

“Does this mean Ula is not meant to die?”Jelly immediately blurted out, receiving a slight shake of Zeta’s head.

“Not necessarily, but one could say so. It is why those such as Ryder have been so keen on killing her.” Zeta squeezed Jelly’s hand, no doubt attempting to prepare her for more. “Ula has been birthed from you, a being with power that you have not yet reached.”

“Power? What-”

“Jelly,” Lennie interrupted his wife, not meaning to be rude but knowing that she was worrying too much. “Let her talk.”

“As I was saying, Ula has something and has only been gaining more and more. Especially after...after the time Ryder injured her. Would you like me to stop?”

“No. Keep going.”

“Ryder had his hand injured at one point, and as you know he then tried to...rip Ula. In that moment, his blood entered her wound, and since it was James’ body he was in during the time, it was a mix of their blood that entered.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Jelly forced herself to smile, free hand once again clawing into her skirt as she felt Zeta’s emotions. “Ha...you’re...not done.”

“Jelly, there was a timeline that existed before you and James ended your relationship.” Zeta bit the inside of her cheek for a moment. “In it, your relationship merely thrived before the two of you married and had children of your own. The first one…”

“Was…” Jelly attempted to finish for Zeta, eyes widening as she shook her head. “No...that can’t be.”

“Ula was originally your and James’ child, which is why she now has small features resembling his.”

“No, no, no. That’s not possible, there is no James in-”

“The night Ula disappeared after having an argument with Schrader, after what Davey did, she went to the pier and had a run in with Cantarella. Prior to this, Cantarella met up with James and stole a good amount of his blood. This was then forced into Ula’s body, thus making it as if he has been her father all along.”

“Why the fuck would she do something like that!?”

“Jelly.” Lennie once again took her hand, holding her down as he felt how she was starting to act up.

“Ula having blood that is similar to both related to Ryder and James gave Cantarella easier access to entering Ula’s body. As well as completing this so-called ‘prophecy’ Risus has got his descendants so stuck on.” Zeta shook her head to dismiss the last part. “From what I understand, they do not want to kill Ula yet, but Risus will not let her out of their sight. And somehow...I feel that another elder is involved in this, but Logium nor Maggie have been able to figure out which.”

The three now remained silent as Zeta looked between Jelly and Lennie, seeing each of their reactions. Even with Jelly looking in complete disbelief, it was clear to Zeta and Lennie that she was livid on the inside. Meanwhile, Lennie had moved the table and his chair so that he was now sitting beside her so that he could soothe her as best as possible.

“There is one other detail you must know, which furthers Risus’ obsession with Ula.” Zeta quietly sighed, feeling the couple’s eyes on her once more. “It’s your possible grandchildren.” _____________ “I just thought, we’re trying to be more honest with each other and it was something that couldn’t wait.”

“I see.”

“And like I said, I’m pretty sure-”

“Atlas.” Ula removed her hand from Atlas’, instead reaching up to hold his cheek. “It’s okay. Maybe, I’m...a tiny bit jealous, but...I’m just being a hypocrite.”

“No, Ula-”

“Atlas.” Ula rubbed her thumb over his cheek, smiling up at him in a reassuring manner. “Thank you for your honesty. I really do appreciate it.”

Atlas stared down at Ula, sighing before eventually returning the smile and leaning into her hand.

“Like I said, I am a teeny bit jealous, but it’s all good. It’s nice to know that you’ll be happy in some other timeline.” Ula chuckled before her hold then turned into a squeeze on Atlas’ cheek. “But you’re screwed because your ass is mine!”

“Hey.” Atlas laughed before shooing Ula’s hand away, his laughter soon dying down as his eyes landed on Basil who he remembered once again was still there. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“I’m honestly not sure if I can have anything right now.” Ula released a deep breath before bringing her hand down to Basil, stroking his hair as he let out a series of coughs. “Do you think you could...maybe check on Flora? See how she’s doing?”

“Sure, I think I could do that.” Atlas gave a small nod, hand hesitantly coming down to be placed on Basil’s shoulder.

Basil strained to open his eyes, but after a while he was able to open them to reveal eyes that no longer looked blue nor green. His eyes darted to the side where Atlas’ hand was, now looking at his own shoulder that was gently squeezed by Atlas.

“Pardon me,”

Basil’s eyes painfully glanced over to the entrance of the tent where Atlas turned to look, Ula making an attempt to do the same.

“Would it be alright if I joined in?”

“Oh, um...of course…?” Atlas saw a hooded figure walk in, somebody who somehow appeared to be familiar. “You are…?”

“Ah yes, please do pardon my intrusion.” the person gave a chuckle, Atlas realizing that their voice was nearly identical to a certain ringleader’s, even their mannerisms and the way they spoke. “Excluding Basil, I do not believe we have ever met. I go by the name Logium.”

“L-Logium?” Atlas ever so slightly perked up, excitement arising in him as he never realized that Ula looked up at him. “As in, the elder of time and all that comes with it?”

“Ah, I see you have at least heard of me.” Logium gave a bit of a chuckle as they now approached the group.

“Well, yes! My elder Canis has spoken of you.” Atlas smiled before seeing as Logium extended a hand, the former immediately accepting it. “It is so very nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine, Atlas.”

“Right! I haven’t, wait, ha. You know my name and who I am basically.”

“I do.”

“And, and-”

“Hey fanboy.” Ula interrupted with a bit of a chuckle. “How about you let the elder talk?”

“Right, right.” Atlas nodded after releasing Logium’s hand, hearing them give their own chuckle.

“Thank you, Ula.” they nodded at her, Ula somehow knowing that they directed a smile at her despite their features being hidden. “Now, I come here bringing a sort of invitation for you.”

“Invitation?” Ula looked at the elder who stood between her and Atlas. “I don’t think now is the time for parties or any of those events.”

“Ah,” Logium shook their head at Ula’s joke. “There is another who wishes to speak to you, and it requires you to sleep to perform said interaction.”

“Whoa, wait, sleep?” Ula blinked up at Logium before shaking her head. “I’m sorry elder Logium, but I can’t. Not again, not until this whole mess is over with.”

“Pardon me?”

“If I go to sleep...I might go to that dreamland again, and I-I can’t have that.” Ula continued to shake her head. “I’m afraid going there again will result in me not waking up. And I’m not sure if I’ll have help who’ll tell me that I’m in a dream again.”

“Oh, but Ula,” Logium placed a hand on her shoulder. “I can assure you that in no way will you go to such a place again.” “But-”

“Hey, Ula.” now Atlas spoke, stepping forward just a bit. “I doubt you’ll go to another of those places again, but if you for some reason do...I’ll make sure to get you out of there, okay?”

“That...that…” Ula gave a nervous laugh. “That’s not exactly reassuring…”

Atlas then made a weird face at her.

“But...okay, I guess I-I’ll do it.” Ula cleared her throat before turning to look at Logium, giving them a nod. “I’ll do it.”

“Ula, I can reassure you that all is well. It is a mere conversation with somebody quite important who would never harm you.” Logium stated as Ula glanced over at Atlas, seeing as he smiled at her.

“I’ll be here when you wake up. I told you I’m not leaving you.” Atlas whispered before Logium placed a hand on Ula’s forehead.

“Despite being occupied, Elder Sionis has made it so that nobody interrupts this interaction.” Logium finalized as Ula’s eyes felt heavy, vision becoming blurry before she wasn’t able to contain a yawn. “Now, rest.” _____________

She came awake in the brightness and stood there, eyes fluttered open as she scanned the area around her.

Ula reached up to touch her forehead, and then her body, making sure that everything was alright.

She gave a sigh of relief as she felt that everything was perfectly intact, shutting her eyes for a moment while basking in the moment.

Ula was safe, no traces of harm were on her as she hugged herself and felt that all was alright.

She wasn’t in some version of her bedroom nor her home, and it definitely wasn’t anywhere near her home.

Ula blinked at what she was surrounded by: a garden almost so ethereal, it was far too beautiful to believe was real. Her attention was brought down to her feet as she felt something cold, now realizing that not only was she barefoot, but she wore a beautiful dress that flowed with the soft breeze she felt; it was almost fairy like with the airy and flowery vibe it had. However, what she deemed quite important was the cold on her feet, noticing that it came from the shallow water surrounding her.

Beneath the water was a floor made of smooth stones that created the shape of a swirl she stood right in the center of. Eyes followed the swirls’ line which then lead to Ula seeing a stairway surrounded by all kinds of flora and some fauna. Looking up, Ula could see all kinds of flowers hanging from above, from a ceiling that most likely did not exist or was far too high to see. All around were petals flowing and floating down, as twinkling lights shone up above with the birch that also hung above.

The sounds were quite soothing, water trickling all around and if it wasn’t pure imagination...the flowers were somehow...singing. Of course, that was but a metaphor or whatever, was what Ula told herself.

“Where to…” Ula cleared her throat as she turned around, still examining whatever she could before seeing that the body of water she was in came from a stream, this one connecting to a series of waterfalls that came up from where the stairs lead to.

Before Ula could say or do anything else, she was startled when a sign popped up from the soil, pointing at the stairs and reading “This Way”.

“Alright, this way I go.” she blinked at the sign before glancing at the stairs, that she made her way towards them, now walking up as she heard whispers all around.

Ula turned to look in every direction, never finding faces that spoke whispers, so she decided to ignore them and continue her way up the steps that trickled with their own waterfall. However, it was soon clear to her that no matter the amount of water falling, one could never slip.

She looked up at the top of the stairway, believing for a moment that she would never reach the end that was greatly illuminated by bright lights that shone in a heavenly manner.And after a while, Ula eventually found herself at the top, then turning to look at the bottom that was no longer visible.

“Welcome, dear child.” a voice so calming spoke to Ula, making her turn back to the front where she now found herself in the presence of a whole new garden, one much more ethereal than the one below.

“Hi there, um…” Ula tugged at the dress she wore, taking a step forward as she was once again surrounded by water. This time, however, she realized there was a plethora of tiny fish-like creatures that curiously swam around her.

“Conllium.” the voice told her, something making Ula step deeper into the garden where she found a grand structure similar to a gazebo. On its center was pure soil from where a twig emerged, this eventually growing into a tree that grew and grew until becoming a figure with limbs and a comforting face that looked down at Ula.

“You have grown so much, my tiny one.”

“Uh...considering how Logium is the one who kinda brought me here, and they’re an elder.” Ula once again cleared her throat, feeling as the figure loomed over her much, much smaller figure. “I assume you’re another elder…?” “You are correct.” the being eventually shrunk down to a much shorter size, yet they still remained tall. “Can you guess which of them all?”

“If you mean what of, I don’t know. Life, maybe? Flowers?” Ula gave a nervous laugh before gulping. “But if you mean, bloodline-wise...the flowers and such kind of give it away, and also you calling me your tiny one.”

“My descendants are all my children.” one of the elder’s ‘hands’ came down, taking a lock of Ula’s hair that was ruffled. “But you, you are one of the many special ones child.”

“Special?” Ula clasped her hands together, thumbs twiddling as she stared up at Conllium .

“I would ask how things are progressing back in your homeland, but I am awake which means that there is no good being done.” Conllium dismissed their previous comment, their bottom half now parting to create legs that they used to walk away from the gazebo. “And of course, all this chaos has been brought upon you by none other than that despicable smog.”

“Um, wh-who are you talking about?” Ula now followed after the elder who casually strolled through their realm, only stopping to reach down towards a bush. “Logium said you wanted to talk to me, and-”

“My roses have withered.” Conllium interrupted, reaching forward towards the bush where Ula saw three withered, what she presumed were, very large roses.

One of them still had some color to it, not as faded as the other two. Especially the one at the top of the “triangle” that one extremely close to death.

“Would you care to tend for them?”

“Elder-” Ula called out to Conllium, sighing as she realized they were not going to reply until she did as she was asked.

Ula walked towards the push, realizing that every flower was larger than her head. She soon lifted her hands, making them hover over to bring life back into the flowers. But...she realized that nothing happened.

“I...I can’t.” she frowned, practically glaring down at her hands. “I don’t know why that didn’t work.”

“Hm.” Conllium hummed to themselves, then continuing on their way as Ula once again followed.

“Elder Conllium,” Ula managed to keep up with their pace, walking at their side while looking up at the elder. “Why have I come here?”

“Despite it being autumn, I decided to keep my garden in its spring time look. What do you think of it?” Conllium once again ignored Ula’s question. “I initially believed you would dislike it, but I do know how much you appreciate such a look. You are quite the fan of Alice in Wonderland after all. The Mad One is an interesting fellow-”

“Elder!” Ula now shouted up at Conllium who ceased their walking, turning to look down at Ula in a calm manner which read more as intimidating. “Um...why am I here? There are other things I-I need to deal with...not that, I don’t have time-”

“Time does not exist in this realm.” Conllium stated before bringing a hand towards Ula, gently patting her head to then ruffle her hair once more. “I mean no emotional harm, but do you remember the night that mime injured and forced a substance into you?”

“Yeah...I do…”

“What happened to you before you were found by your beloved and cousin?”

“B-beloved!?” Ula exclaimed with reddened cheeks. “Schrader is not-!”

“You were foolishly dropped into the sea, before you were engulfed in the embrace of vines.” Conllium continued. “Have you ever wondered how those came to be?”

“I, well...yeah.” Ula nodded, frowning in confusion. “I mean, I went from being on the seafloor to my rabbit hole. How does that even happen?”

Ula stared at Conllium who stared back, right before her eyes widened upon a realization.

“That was you!”

“Indeed.” Conllium gave a single nod as they now looked forwards. “I could never leave you laying there, especially after everything.”

“After...what, exactly?”

“You are Mecor’s child, and Mecor a descendant of mine.”

“I’m sorry, Mecor-what now?”

“Mecor, elder of the state of being.” Conllium posited before waving their hand in the air, an image appearing in the area to reveal none other than Ula’s mother.

“Wait, wait, wait...what? What are you saying?”

“My dear Ula,” Conllium chuckled while staring at the image of Jelly. “Your mother was birthed as a powerful being, and she grows more powerful day by day. Fortunate for you, you have inherited such power.”

“You’re telling me...that my mom’s...another one of you guys?” Ula blinked in complete disbelief. “And...she hasn’t told us? Me? My dad? Maggie? Wait, she probably doesn’t even know herself...right? I-...hold up, did you say something about inheriting?”

“My, my. Always such a curious one.” Conllium sighed in a good way, then waving their hand so that the image of Jelly was whooshed away, now being replaced by images of two silhouettes. “Besides being a child of Mecor, you are a child who has received more than meant to. You are one who is meant to exist in every timeline, no matter the manner in which you are birthed. But, what never changes is who you are, or choose to be.”

“What do you mean?” Ula stared at the silhouettes, one who appeared to look quite familiar.

“Has there been any mention of Cundolili to you?”

“I don’t believe so.” Ula shook her head while Conllium waved their hand again, now three more silhouettes appearing above the bottom two before the one in the center turned into an image of Ula.

“Cundolili is the name of the elder of cycles. The elder of life and death, which is what I am the elder of.”

“So there’s...two elders, for that?”

“No my child.” Conllium shook their head before the two silhouettes besides Ula’s image turned into one of Atlas, and the other of Schrader. “Cundolili is my successor.”

“A-and they are…?”

“Ula,” Conllium stared at the three images for a while, Ula watching them. “May I ask what your relationship with each of these young men is?”

“W-well Atlas is my boyfriend, who...I hope to marry some day.” Ula stuttered before her eyes landed on Schrader’s image. “And Schrader...is my ex...who’s...dead.”

“I see.”

“What does any of that matter?” Ula made sure to loudly clear her throat.

“Would you hope to marry Schrader?”

“Excuse me?” Ula’s eyes widened at the sound of that, face turning away to hide how flushed it was. “Schrader’s dead!”

“Hm.”

“A-and even if he wasn’t, I wouldn’t be with him because I-I-I already have a boyfriend!”

“Ah.”

“So, you know, my future with him is also dead! E-Even if our possible son and daughter are somehow s-still existing!”

“Hm, future.” Conllium nodded. “I have always found that concept ever so interesting.”

They then looked down at Ula, seeing her flustered expression that was oly furthered by her pout.

“The future can always be altered, Ula. No matter how definite it seems.”

“I...I know.” Ula’s head now hung low, eyes looking down at the water once again as she bit her lip. “But...this future is set.”

“Ah, but the future is a never-ending book whose pencil never ceases to scribble tales.” Conllium placed a ‘finger’ under Ula’s chin, lifting her head up as they chuckled to themselves. “And just like every book, edits are always made. That is why we use a pencil, for no pen is ever required.”

“I...what does any of this even have to do with this so-called Cundolili?” Ula practically whined before she and the elder turned back to the images in the air.

“You have been born with a power that deems you worthy of being an elder.” Conllium closed their hand for a moment, then opening it to reveal a simple yet lovely flower crown that was placed upon Ula’s head. “You are a candidate for the position of Cundolili.”

With her mouth agape, Ula was at a loss for words before she eventually shook her head.

“I...how-”

“However, I am in no way a forceful elder.” Conllium went back to the images in the air, one of the silhouettes now turning into a picture of none other than Basil. “Your possible first born with Schrader is another candidate for that title.”

“Another? Wow….um…”

“And the third would be your firstborn with Atlas.”

“What?” Ula instantly replied, waiting for the image of the other child to be revealed. It however never appeared.

“I am not asking for a decision now, nor tomorrow, nor next month, nor year.” Conllium placed a hand over Ula’s shoulder. “But I must tell you, that you are to make a decision.”

“Decision…” “Now that you know who you could be in some future, you must know that you may answer yes or no. You must decide whether or not you wish to be the next elder of life and death, and cycles.” Conllium gave Ula a comforting squeeze. “If you decide to be so, I can tell you more when the time comes. If you decide against it...the ‘offer’ will move onto your twins.”

“Twins?” Ula’s eyes widened again. “What do you mean, twins? I thought you said firstborn child!”

“Are you willing to hear my words and be flustered once again? Or shall I keep quiet instead?” Conllium now gave a laugh, making Ula gulp before shrugging.

“I...I guess I need to hear it.”

“There is a timeline in which you remain in a living relationship with Atlas, but Schrader eventually joins in.”

“J-Joins?”

“The two of them are your mates in said timeline, just as your dear sister Cordelia desires it to be.” Conllium’s gaze darted down to Ula who had already turned red. “In these timelines, you tend to give birth to twins, each one being fathered by each mate.”

“Oh my stars.”

“Not accepting the role of elder results in your powers moving onto these newborns. The one fathered by Atlas is the one with the higher possibility of becoming Cundolili, whilst the one fathered by Schrader has a chance of replacing another elder.” Cundolili explained while staring at the remaining silhouette in the air. “You remain powerful, but not as powerful as an elder, for it is then your sons.”

“Sons?” Ula finally glanced up at Conllium. “I have a son with Atlas?”

“Yes.”

“And that,” Ula pointed at the silhouette. “Is that how he looks?”

“Yes.” Conllium answered with a nod. “Would you like to see him?”

“I...I would.” Ula nodded before watching Conllium wave their hand, now revealing a brown-haired boy who was the spitting image of Atlas, with the exception of flower-shaped freckles, a lack of glasses, and hair a much lighter color. “Oh my stars...it’s...Rowan.”

“As I mentioned, that boy will most likely accept his role as an elder.” Conllium then glanced over at the image of Basil. “And Basil will do the same when his time comes. Both of those boys are to be born with such power, they shall only ever make you and their fathers proud.”

“Basil’s time...Basil won’t-” Ula soon stopped herself, somewhat of a realization coming to her before she looked at Conllium again. “You keep talking about Basil as if he’s going to exist, just like this other son. But, that can’t be possible because...because his father’s dead, and, and…”

“Ula.” Conllium’s hand came to the top of Ula’s head once again, soothing her while her thoughts raced all over the place.

“Oh my stars...oh my stars!” Ula gasped. “Basil hasn’t perished away because...because…!

“Schrader is alive.” Conllium nodded as Ula gave another gasp.

“And you’re telling me that I could end up with him again! While also being with Atlas! Wait, no! That’s crazy, that’s...no!”

As Ula had a crisis of her own, Conllium sensed something...off...very off...it reeked of…

“Risus.” Conllium muttered to themselves, turning around to hide a new image he created in the water.

They stared down, seeing the sight that was another one of their descendants. It was Pepper, now changed into something like Ula had been...and he was making his way towards his brother.

Conllium, frowned at the sight, seeing that ‘Pepper’ was up to no good.

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