#I only saw it the other day and thought I had it saved grrr

[drconstellation]

Well, now.

How about:

A couple of dark horses side by side, dressed in a similar way.

Muriel's coat is interesting, too.

Isn't it interesting...

Crowley's Lapels point up? Like Michael and Uriel's. Almost like they're more bastard than good... like crowley (although Crowley is nicer and kinder than both of them)

While Muriel, Saraqael, Aziraphale, and Gabriel's point... down. I know Saraqiel is not in a suit, but still.

Something something there's more Muriel and Saraqael that meets the eye. We don't know rhem well if at all, and Crowley and Azi couldn't remember them (despite Aziraphale having a flashback ABOUT Muriel the day before. Very strange.)

[plump-lips-imagine]

Super Mario Bros. Isekai!Reader (Bowser x Reader) (2/3)

There were exactly three more weird encounters with Bowser that stuck with you.

He seemed to be even keener on taking you down after the first encounter. It kind of scared you. Actually no, it really scared you.

You actually have a target on your back now.

But that didn't stop you from having a fun time around the kingdom.

You traveling around the kingdom started this whole series of encounters in the first place.

The first encounter…

it was at the mushroom fields where you were having a small picnic by yourself after Peach told you to have a break.

you picked a nice spot to set your basket and blanket and took in the scenery.

The weather was so nice out today, it was a perfect time out. It kind of made you want to sleep outside on your blanket after you ate.

You guess.... shutting your eyes for a few seconds wasn't going to hurt. It was your day off. It was so peaceful that it was a crime to not relax. Just a little-

"YOU!!"

huh?

You opened your eyes to see a large Fireball heading in your direction.

You were able to move out of the way fast enough to save your basket. Your Blanket and nap area was burnt to a crisp.

"My Blanket!!" You said shocked to your core. You look at the person responsible for this and turned out to be none other than Bowser. Steam was still coming out of his nose as he glared at you

"What was that for?"

"You Know EXACTLY What That Was For, Pipsqueak. You're Going To Pay For What You Did!"

Uh Oh. You don't have the energy to fight him again. Not that you really wanted to fight but still. There must be something around here!

"Think Fast!" You throw the first thing you had with you. A sandwich.

It splattered across Bowser's face, blinding him. This is your chance to book it. You can as face as you can.

"YOU BRAT!!" He quickly wiped off the mess on his face so that he could burn you to a crisp.

He couldn't find you, however. you could run fast if you wanted to. He stomped around for a minute until he came across a goomba. It looks like it's one of his.

"You! I'm looking for a Brat! Have you seen her?"

The goomba said nothing but nodded his head in a different direction. Bowser followed the direction the goomba pointed to.

"Hehe..I can't believe that worked." You take off the goomba hat and chuckle to yourself. The goomba mask always worked in video games, but you didn't think it was going to work in real life.

Let's run back to the mushroom Kingdom before he notices.

Second Encounter…

You were napping in the forest. Why? You don't know. It just felt comfortable underneath the tree.

you could get used to this. In your old world, you had so much stressful work to do, and naps were little to none, as it felt shameful to take a nap sometimes. This, however, felt nice. this world had little to really stress over.

"Grrr!!" You opened your eyes and saw A FIST COMING INTO YOUR DIRECTION!

You quickly moved away before he came in contact with you, creating a large hole in the tree.

okay, almost little to stress over.

"You won't get away this time!"

"HEEEEELP!!" You ran as fast as you could.

the good news is that you were not far from the Mario Bros. House.

Luigi was peacefully doing the laundry outside when he heard yelling. He turned around and saw you.

"HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

"What? WOAH!"

"GET BACK HERE!"

You had the Mario Bros. take care of that one for you. That's how you were able to escape the second time. Cowering in their house.

Third Encounter……

This time you were picking fruits from trees in a forest. You planned to take some back to the mushroom Kingdom and bake with Peach. You currently have bananas, apples, and peaches.

hopefully they will be enough for some delicious desserts.

While you were lost in your train of thought, a fireball comes your way. You were able to jump out of the way before you were hit. Deja vu.

You turned around and saw the one and only Bowser. He was beyond angry. Veins were popping out of his head. and steam seemed to come from everywhere. oh boy.

"This.ends.here! Stop running away!"

You ran anyway. He wasn't far behind.

You still had one trick up your sleeve. You reached into your basket and pulled out the only weapon you had. A banana.

Throwing it to the ground, you ran faster as he slipped on it. This made him roll over on his back, making him unable to get back up.

"You annoying pipsqueak! Get back here!!" He yells, struggling to get back up.

This is the perfect time to get back to the kingdom......but.

you can't just leave him like this. well, you can, but you didn't want to. It didn't feel right, no matter how scary he was.

you went behind him to push him back on his feet.

"H-Hey, What are you doing?!"

"Getting you back on your feet!" He was really heavy. you were kinda struggling a bit. But you knew you were close, just a little more push.

"I don't need your help!"

'Almost...Got It!" With a huge push, you successfully got him back on his feet, your arms feeling like jelly while you did so. He's as heavy as he looks.

He turned around to look at you. Slightly glaring at you as you look like a quick puppy. You were a little too tired to run and couldn't put up much of a fight. You'll have to accept your fate.

But he just turns back around and stomps away, with a scowl on his face.

"Count your luck. I decided to spare you. Get lost!" He stomps away, leaving you confused.

That was weird.

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite? - Part 1: SILVER

There are some heroes I like. And there are some heroes I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a series in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the heroes in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves over the course of time. Two things to keep in mind:

1. These reviews will be focusing mainly on game portrayals. Though alternate media will occasionally be mentioned, it'll be for the sake of adding onto a point if a portrayal is similar enough, or to compare and contrast if a portrayal is different enough.

2. These are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, I decided to challenge myself by starting off with a complicated one. Born from the future, and never content to stay put in said future, it's the saviour whose debut came from the most unfortunate game... Silver the Hedgehog.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in the distant future, there was an idealistic young hedgehog named Silver, gifted with the power of telekinesis for reasons unknown. With his amazing potential, he was truly destined for a wonderful, prosperous li-just kidding, it was shit.

“All two of us.”

For as long as he knew, the world was forever plagued by Iblis, the terrible Flames of Disaster. Cities stood in ruin, flames stood high, the floor was lava... it was a bitter life to be certain, all thanks to Iblis. Not even defeating the titular creature did much good, since it would simply come back to be a shitty boss fight another day. What was he - and his friend, Blaze, a character we definitely never saw before and definitely didn't have a completely different backstory before - to do?

Trust the first person he sees, of course. Even if they look like they might be related to the same Flames of Disaster that he fights so constantly.

If he had eyelids, he'd be winking at the camera.

This mysterious fellow, Mephiles the Dark, informed Silver that if he were to wipe out Iblis for real, he would need to take a trip into the past, and eliminate the root of the problem... Sonic the Hedgehog? That was what Mephiles claimed, yes. What was his proof? There was no proof.

That was good enough for Silver.

Oh look, it's Fleetway Sonic.

After an elaborate series of events, which should sound exciting but really isn't because it was just Silver going “Iblis Trigger grrr” in varying tones of voice, he was finally able to corner the blue hedgehog... twice! And despite having less fighting know-how than the hero who saved the world plenty of times, he effortlessly came close to killing the blue hedgehog... twice!

This looks like a jobbing for...

Why twice? The first time was halted by Sonic's friend Amy Rose, who Silver had met beforehand after she mistook him for Sonic, an understandable mistake that even the keenest of eyes would be forgiven for making.

The second time was also interrupted, this time by Shadow the Hedgehog. There's only room for one controversial non-blue male hedgehog in this franchise, sonny boy. Actually, his reasons were more benevolent than that: he wanted to show Silver the truth about what was going on, by time travelling to the incident that gave birth to Iblis. Why was one able to to this, so long as more than one Chaos Emerald was present? No one knew.

That was good enough for Silver.

“I challenge you to a dumb-off.”

As it turned out, Iblis was one half of a sun god called Solaris, the other half being the aforementioned Mephiles. The Duke of Soleanna wanted to reunite with his late wife by harnessing Solaris' power, which succeeded from a certain point of view since he's dead now too. The resulting blunder split Solaris into two halves. One half was all brawn, with little capacity for intelligence. The other half was Iblis.

Understanding the error of his ways, and after making peace with Sonic, Silver went back to the future to try something different, which consisted of doing the same thing he always did. Luckily for him, the script decided it would work this time, albeit at the cost of Blaze sacrificing herself... Maybe? Sort of? It’s not entirely clear what happened to her, and it’s not like this was the last we ever saw of her.

~La laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, heading to a better game, la laaaaaa~

But ohhhhh nooooo, turns out THAT didn't solve anything either! In the present, Sonic was killed by Mephiles, after the latter realised he should probably do that already if he wanted to make any progress at all with his plan. This incident led to Iblis being brought into the present, and they fused to become the omnipotent Solaris once more. Such power... such divinity... such devastation...

Actually, he was really easy. The antlion from Underground Zone was harder.

Manchild robots - 1, god of time - 0.

With their super forms in tow, Silver, Shadow, and the revived Sonic joined forces to defeat Solaris, with Sonic in particular going the extra step in retconning Solaris out of existence entirely. Since time itself reset, meaning Iblis was no longer a memory, Silver's timeline was given a second chance. What was he to look forward to in this new, promising future?

Shit.

The Design: Let's take a closer look at Silver's appearance, shall we?

Or rather, a certain thing that's wrong with it.

He's holding up fifteen fingers.

Yes, you all know what I'm pointing to: the hairstyle. Let it be known that I'm very aware of the intention behind this design choice. It's supposed to be based on the Japanese Red Maple Leaf, which holds a lot of relevant symbolism for Silver's character. This is a fine idea in theory, and I can respect the intent and the creativity.

But here's the thing: If it looks like a ganja leaf, people are going to say it looks like a ganja leaf. I know some fans will gnash their teeth at me saying this, but the fact of the matter is that intentions and ideas, no matter how good they may be on paper, don't always translate well into the final product. Unleashed Secret Rings Black Knight Sonic '06 in general is certainly no stranger to showcasing examples of that, and Silver's hairstyle is no exception. There are ways to incorporate symbolism in a character’s design without making them look like meme bait in the process, and no amount of “umm ackshually” will change that, I'm afraid.

That said, there's another reason why I'm staying clean of Silver marijuana: it doesn't work for a hedgehog character. With the other hedgehogs, their hairstyles are simple and get the point across: Sonic's goes without saying, Shadow's is more angular to befit a slightly rougher hero, and Amy's is a cute bob cut of sorts. But Silver? Even without the ganja, you've still got the two tentacles making up the back of his head.

I'd rather not be reminded of hentai quills, thanks.

“I thought Crusher-san would like it :’(”

I do find it hilarious that they went through numerous designs for Silver, and this was what they chose to go with. Some of his prototype designs may have fared better had any of them been used instead... but we didn't end up with any of those ones. We ended up with this one, therefore I'm judging this one.

But don’t worry, it’s not all bad with Silver...

The Personality: As far as actual character goes, Silver's personality is as straightfoward as most characters in the series, yet it's no less interesting, because it took a while for it to fully evolve to what it currently is. The seeds of his character - a good-natured yet awkward and rather insecure kind of guy, who doesn't fully understand how the present time works - have always been there, but it was often downplayed in earlier titles due to him being hungry for Iblis Trigger blood... or being an arsehole for no reason.

Although to be fair, everyone in Rivals is an arsehole for no reason.

Eventually though, after the writers gave him a Snickers, these traits got more opportunity to shine. Mostly in side media admittedly, but it's been noted in the games as well. With no Iblis to angst over, he's proven to be a surprisingly bubbly chap, who just wants to know how you're all doing, fellow anthro kids. And whereas his naivety was previously used for intended tragedy to benefit the evil plan of a guy who thought taking the -istoph- out of Mephistopheles would make him inconspicuous, now it's been used for a bunch of low-key contexts that do a much better job at endearing him to the player.

Finally, something I can relate to.

Hell, he even seems to have learned from the Mephiles incident, as he was quick to make it clear to the next shadowy deep-voiced anthro with demonic eyes he met that he wasn't gonna fall for any of them fibs no more, ya hear?

“YouTube and Twitter don’t count.”

All in all, it works well enough, in my opinion. His personality does pave the way for some funny and wholesome moments, and since they’re no longer trying to build him up like he’s Shadow 2.0, he's nowhere near as much of a tool as he was before. So I guess you could say... I like it?

Does this mean I can say that I like the character as a whole then, design and '06-induced idiocy aside?

Well, not quite...

The Execution: This is where the complication part comes into play. We know now that I like his personality, not so much his design, but that's only the half of it. It would be more accurate to say that I like his personality... and dislike everything else.

Aside from that, obviously.

For starters, the creation process for his character and story was summed up with, in their own words, “Think Trunks from Dragon Ball Z”. So he comes off as rather lazy and uninspired. Now I'm not expecting my Sonic characters to be 100% unique, there's always going to be similarities to other franchises no matter what you do, even if subconsciously or by complete coincidence. Taking inspiration in itself is no big deal at all.

But... was that it? Copying a DBZ character to such a blatant extent? Was there no other thought put into it?

Naturally, this ties into an overarching problem: the franchise's mid-00's habit of trying way too hard to be the anthro Dragon Ball Z. Sonic has had DBZ influences since the early days, with the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic, but it didn't assimilate itself into every waking aspect of his universe. It was merely an additional flavor that added to the complete package, in the same way that a Death Star with a moustache didn't mean the franchise was suddenly Star Wars the Hedgehog.

But come the turn of the millenium, nearly every main title in the series ended with Super Sonic and/or Super Shadow saving the day, while everyone else either stood around being useless, or only helping in ways that no one actually cares about. Including the in-universe President apparently, since only Sonic and Shadow were featured in the photo on his desk.

Amy smiled. “I guess the rest of us can go fuck ourselves, huh?”

This reached its peak with - of course - Sonic '06, with Silver in particular being an obvious result of this then-ongoing trend. And yes, it would be unfair to use him as a scapegoat, considering it was already a problem long before he turned up. But moreso than even Shadow, it's an era that Silver is forever a relic of, for better or for worse.

But it doesn't stop there. Since Silver is considered a mainstay character, his gimmick of being from the future also creates problems of its own, because in order for him to make further appearances, he keeps turning up for little explained reason, and thus he suffers the Deadly Six problem of being shoved into places where he doesn't belong, for fanservice's own sake. Take Sonic Colours DS for example, where he went back in time JUST to check out Eggman's theme park... Okay...?

On one hand, I’d visit it too, since it's made by Eggman. On the other hand, I’d stay clear of it, since it's made by Eggman.

And when there IS a justification with more weight to it? It's just recycling the '06 routine of trying to avert his ruined future, which isn't much better. The cause may differ depending on the story, but if his future is a permanent shitehole for one reason or another, he might as well cut out the middle man and stay in the present altogether, since that's where his friends are anyway. But they seem intent on not doing that, despite the future schtick being a noose around his neck at this point.

In hindsight, maybe this was a hint to how the rest of the arc would turn out.

And then there's his dynamic with a certain purple cat... No, not Big. The other one.

“I’m here, by the way.”

Simply put: I don't like this dynamic. At all. Or rather, I don't like how they keep milking it. Blaze's backstory was radically changed to justify her presence in Silver's future, and it really shows, since she barely even shows up half the time, as if the developers themselves forgot she was in the game. But her backstory has since been restored to her original alternate dimension interpretation, so hanging around with the grey hedgehog is all good now, right?

To be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't care for this dynamic regardless. But I would be more willing to tolerate it, and I'd refrain from groaning every time they're seen together... if they weren't intent on playing it up so much in spite of '06 being wiped out, sometimes with a bit of commentary involving their thoughts and memories, which only succeeds at making things more confusing. If Blaze is around, Silver will be nearby, and if he's not at first, he will be soon enough. This franchise does have a problem in general with restricting who's allowed to interact with who (I personally believe Sonic Heroes may have led to this, or at least it accelerated it), but I'd argue it's at its most insufferable here, with Blaze's potential and her entire world taking a backseat to being the sidekick of Ganja Man.

And you might say “Well, it's part of the franchise now, so you'll just have to accept it”. To which I ask: Have you accepted Two Worlds? Have you accepted Solo Sonica? Have you accepted Sonic's friends not doing much as of late?

Yeah. That's what I thought. “It’s just how it is” doesn’t mean you can’t criticise it.

Meanwhile, Marine is lucky enough to get so much as a shout out.

So yeah, I have quite an extensive list of grievances involving poor Silver. But... very little of it has to do with him, right? They're all indirect problems that he just so happens to be linked to, as opposed to someone like Chris Thorndyke, who is genuinely a shit character through and through. This is more comparable to Tails being bitchy in Lost World, or Amy being manipulative in Chronicles, or Sonic being a smug dumbass in IDW, or Shadow not wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Boom. Frustrating, regrettable, but not really the character's own fault.

Yet even after all that, there's one last kick in the teeth... How do you fix all this? And how do you fix it when he's since gained a sizable fandom, many of whom like him for these very attributes? If you leave it as it is, you're stuck with this big, awkward mess that everyone pretends to ignore. If you try to do something about it, you'll get complaints about disrespecting the True Silver Spirit, and you’ll get questions about why you didn't create a new character instead... And if you did use a new character for the sake of a clean slate, THEN you'd get complaints about not using Silver.

It's a tough call to be sure, and it's such a shame because like I said, I do appreciate his personality, so I can't say he's bad outright. But with all this... clutter, I can only put him in the average category. So, in he goes.

Crusher Gives Silver a: Thumbs Sideways!

Well, I'm glad this one's out of the way. Putting my thoughts into words with Silver was harder than it should have been. I do slightly regret starting this series off on a rather downer note, but rest assured, it's a lot more positive from this point onwards, since while I have higher praise for some heroes more than others, the hero characters as a whole fare a lot better than the majority of villains not named Eggman.

I guess you could say that I hope to show why Sonic's friends aren't as shitty as the haters would suggest. ;)

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 26 already! I can’t believe we’re about halfway through... This episode seems to be end point for the current “arc,” or “mini arc,” maybe?? I’m not sorry to see it go but overall, this episode was pretty eh... Not bad, just kind of... I don’t get why we needed it. A fair few REALLY important things do happen! Those are awesome! I just think we could have got them in a more... interesting... way? xD Like, I didn’t hate watching it or anything, it just kind of felt like, with all the important stuff going on, shouldn’t there be more... oomph? (And I know we had a ton of oomph lately, it’s about time to wind down for a while... but then why pick now to spring certain things on us... anyway...)

Pic of the day!

generic group shot that captures each Chosen’s individual fighting spirit!

Koushirou: *intent focus*

Sora: *look of concern*

Jou: *I must have learned something in school that will be useful here*

Mimi: *Jou thinking always makes me nervous and a little grossed out*

Recap below!

So last week I’m pretty sure I vowed to violently murder someone in a back alley (or something like that) if we didn’t get to see the gang eat some FOOD this episode.

Well, looks like y’all are safe from me for now. Though I gotta say, I’m mildly concerned that they are eating Digi-eggs. Don’t those look like Digi-eggs? Other than the random very normal looking grapes...

Thank HEAVENS they are taking a BREAK.

Taichi uses his telescope to remark that Cloud Continent is not only a continent in the clouds, but it sure looks small from down here. Leomon admits he’s not really sure what’s going on anymore either xD

Leomon’s mainly weirded out by Patamon, who... I suppose just doesn’t fit the bill for what he expected the holy Digimon to be like :P lol

Ok so quick aside... I’m honestly kinda peeved that we’re still with Leomon’s silly group of clowns. I know that sounds harsh! And I love Leomon! But his army is... uh... well, he definitely made sure he’d be the coolest one around at all times xD It makes sense that he’d be hanging around because after all, getting to the Holy Digimon was one of his goals as well, but honestly he and his team just feel like replacement back-up for the other Chosen Children who are in the real world atm. AND FIZZ IS NOT INTO THAT. At this point I really do NOT understand why the kids had to split up and send some to the real world at all. I suppose it may be explained in the future but I also won’t be surprised if the answer is “It’s exactly like you saw, Devimon tried to separate them.” I would much rather have had the whole team together. I mean, if this was an excuse for Taichi and Yamato to get close... it really didn’t feel like that. At least not to a point where they couldn’t have gotten with the others around too.

Anyway, break time’s over, because there’s an actual monster fight going on. It must be cool to watch - the way Ebidramon shakes Seadramon reminds me of the T-rex vs stegosaurus battle in Fantasia xD But then Seadramon has the last laugh and EATS EBIDRAMON’S DATA, enabling it to evolve to WarSeadramon. That must have been an epic meal

Meanwhile in the real world, important things are happening, Koushirou’s using lots of Big Words with Kanji and Mimi is happy to get back at Jou for one-upping her last episode by correctly recognizing the roman letters this time. They are still sitting on the same bench where they’ve been for SIX episodes now. My butt hurts just thinking about it.

Patamon is very informative.

Patamon: We’re all gonna die!!

Thank you Patamon. You are so cute.

WarSeadramon decides Takeru and Patamon look like a yummy dessert after his meal, so he attacks them, only to be feigned off by our heroes. WarSeadramon gets pissy and says “Two on one is no fair! I have friends too!” and calls MetalSeadramon to join him. Apparently, MetalSeadramon can move on land :O This was one of the freakier things, I was actually like GAAH

Taichi tells Yamato to take Takeru somewhere safe. Since he is clearly very tasty to Seadramons. Yamato doesn’t bother arguing xD

Takeru: Hey! I’m your brother not a bag of beans!

However they are both cut off! Stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Meanwhile, Koushirou is literally a bad ass. He’s managing to reroute the rogue ships whose GPS have gone haywire by sending a signal from a second satellite, which the ships then pass on to the other ships.

Thus helping them get back on course and not collide with each other.

I mean this kid is in fourth grade. HOW HAS HE NOT BEEN SNAPPED UP BY THE GOVERNMENT AND TRAINED INTO SOME CHILD SUPER SPY???

no seriously... I’d actually kind of LOVE it if that were a thing x’D Like the government goes to Koushirou’s house and tries to get him to come but his parents are like “Um no he is a child and he needs a childhood” and protect him :’< When will this show realize WE ALL LOVE KOUSHIROU

Mimi: HURRY UP!!!!!!!!!!

Mimi: H... Hikari... you were still here...? Ehehe.... um... *whisper* hurry up!!

so yeah Hikari is still here! Standing! Staring! Really creepy! I get that the others are very distracted atm but it seems like someone should be like “do you need help? are you lost? do you need a doctor since you seem to have gone catatonic??��� Only Koushirou is actively doing anything, I think someone could be spared to at least let her sit on their lap!

Back in the digital world, Garurumon is so distracted by the fight happening in front of him that he fails to notice the attack from behind, and Professional Self-Sacrificing Idiots Taichi and Greymon save the day.

They predictably fall off the cliff wheeeeeeeeeeee

It’s raining men, hallelujah

Under water, Greymon gets his assed kicked until Taichi manages to swim to him

which seems to give him renewed focus, I suppose, and he’s able to get away from the two Seadramon pals and get some air.

However they almost immediately drag him back down. You would think Greymon would be REALLY bad in a water battle and at least need to evolve to be any use (especially given that both evolved Seadramons are perfect levels), but both Greymon and Garurumon never evolve this episode, so I think we’re supposed to assume that even after eating they’re just not recovered enough for that yet. GOOD

Yeah but here’s what confuses me. Yamato does not do anything to help. Well, I shouldn’t say anything - whenever an enemy comes out of the water, he and Leomon’s team attack it from afar. But I mean, Taichi is in the water, being attacked by two Digimon who are both a level higher. WHY DOESN’T YAMATO GO IN TO HELP?!?!

We can’t even give him the excuse of needing to protect Takeru because 1) Takeru has Leomon’s entire team to protect him and 2) Takeru is fighting!!!!!!

I’m sorry but Yamato should be in the water. This is just crappy writing. He’s shouted “Taichi!” three times in the exact same way this episode and has very few other lines, so I actually sort of suspect that Namikawa Daisuke might not have been available to voice him this episode?? Maybe? So they just couldn’t give him too much to do for that reason. That’s totally speculation, I just don’t understand why Yamato does so little here.

Back with Koushirou, his plan has worked and all the ships are successfully changing course woot

Aww looks like a Christmas tree

The way Garudamon carries Zudomon is A++

The partners inform them that the Zurumon are on the move...

Jou theorizes that they’re off to gobble up more data somewhere else. Mimi’s like “ew?”

They decide they really need to get back to the digital world now. They’re finally worried about Yamato and Taichi and figure they’ll be more useful over there. I really can’t think of a reason why Koushirou could not have saved all these ships from the digital world so YEAH HARD AGREE. What even was this interlude?? Show us how cool a hacker Koushirou is?? We already KNEW that, he can do it from the digital world too, and watching the kids sit on a bench for six episodes was NO GOOD. Grrr. At least I needed them to do something really cool to justify all this but... nope! Can’t say it was necessary for Taichi and Yamato’s sake either!

There is one awesome thing that comes out of the separation...

Hikari: Oh you want to go back to the digital world? Why didn’t you say so?

ZIP!

Aaaaand they’re gone! Hikari included! :O

I kind of guessed this was gonna happen when Hikari first showed up, but I also sort of thought, it seems so early to have her join... I know this season is Doing It Different but we JUST got Takeru, I figured we’d spend more time on his story first. Also figured the lead in to Hikari joining would be more... Idk... this was just kind of anticlimactic, y’know? But whatev.

Now the only thing is... there’s no reason they had to go back to the human world for this. Hikari could have just come on her own. “It’s calling,” she says. Well, it could have called her regardless. So we really didn’t need this for Hikari’s sake. Bleh.

Curly

Ok so injuries really are a thing now. I’m down. We don’t get blood but we get to see lots of sparkly data leakage.

Still best boy, warts and all

What I DO really like... that i think we saw this ep as well as the episode before last in particular, is how important the kids are to their partners this season. Greymon loses it when Taichi’s KO’d in the Devimon battle, and this time, when they were separated under water Greymon started to panic until Taichi arrived. That alone seemed to restore his confidence. And even though he can’t evolve further, Taichi’s still able to give him a power boost. That was the one thing in 99 Adventure - the idea that the partners were connected with their human partners and needed their help to reach the next level was always fun, but mostly left the kids just running around unhelpfully much of the time. Tamers added on to it with the card game boosts (which were just to sell toys to kids BUT I still thought was cool lol). And then Frontier just did away with the partners all together and made the kids the monsters which I did NOT like personally. (YMMV although that one ep where Takuya has a crisis and becomes Flamemon was a cool effect.) This season has found a good balance, I think, between keeping the kids involved and preventing them from being too involved, if that makes sense. Of course it still means they’ve got suction cups on their shoes and can hold their breath underwater for unusual lengths of time...

Yay we won!!

... Never mind, now there are four of them xP

(but really, did he think he’d beaten two Perfect levels just like that? A level below, under water, and two-on-one? Taichiiii)

Yamato’s still just shouting Taichi’s name like the girl in Forrest Gump. “Run Taichi run!”

Then... Taichi hears a lovelier voice than Yamato’s!

Taichi: Zudomon!! Why do you sound like my little sister?

Bang bang Zudomon’s silver hammer came down upon his head

Bang bang Zudomon’s silver hammer made sure that he was dead

The whole gang is back!!! YAAAAAYYYY the one reason to love this episode!

So nice to see someone other than Greymon and Garurumon be a badass xP

And then this!! Anticlimactic though it was, I’m really excited to have Hikari on the team. She’s joining about halfway through which is kinda similar to how it was in 99 Adventure, but 99 Adventure had a much better lead in... however this season still has lots of storytelling to do.

Taichi is pretty amazed but not freaked, at least not yet.

Hikari’s just like “I was called here” and yes she’s as freaky as ever. If anything she’s even more freaky. I’m down as long as she gets a bit of personality beyond “mysterious” and “adores her brother”

I mean Takeru’s had plenty of opportunities to be a baby BAMF so far, so Hikari deserves some too. I wonder how long she’ll go without a partner?

Next week! It’s our first Takari shot!

Also... ooooohh??

The group will go to a new continent. Exciting exciting. Though I ragged on this episode, I’m still overall enjoying this season. But yeah I’m so GLAD the team is back together and unless something happens to change my mind, I def think they never should have been separated from the beginning. Or at least it should have been a much shorter separation. Anyway they’re together again so fingers crossed for more good stuff to come.

[xhanisai]

Speak Now, Regret Later.

A/N: OKAY! So this anon sent an amazing ask to the terrible-akuma-ideas blog and I was instantly inspired to write something related to it- I legitimately burst out laughing and oh god I hope you all enjoy this! I think we all need a little breather from the Chat Blanc teasers. Without further ado, read on~

(Co-Posted on AO3 and FFN) ~(x)~

The silence has never been so loud. Not even a pin drop was to be heard in the park across the Dupain Cheng Bakery. The bespeckled couple along with their blonde companion stood as still as statues, arms stretched out and mouths gaping with fear and failure. They were too slow to save their friend...if only they were a second faster...if only one of them was even a smidge closer to the raven haired girl... Marinette could have sworn that her heart stopped beating, hands clamped against her mouth and eyes close to bulging out of their sockets. The cackling akuma before her, dressed in the most hideous attire ever since Le Bubbleur made his debut. The akuma's hands stop glowing in its sinister, gold colour along with Marinette's body. "Heh, now I wonder what interesting inner thoughts will escape you now, Class President!" The akuma- also self-claimed as 'Unprivatiser', cocked his head to the side in mock innocence. The akuma's power seems to have control over Marinette's hands as well from the way they were slipping down from her mouth despite her iron will. "Will they be as embarrassing as mine? Will they humiliate you just like the way everyone else humiliated me? Will we finally see if Miss Perfect of our collegé really is perfect?" 

Marinette naturally sunk her teeth into her lips, shaking and attempting everything to keep her mouth shut. One wrong move and she could blurt out her secret identity, dooming Paris along with her normal life and fail her partner. "Leave her alone!" Adrien bellowed, finally getting his legs to move and formed a human wall between the akuma and Marinette, arms spread wide. Nino and Alya yelled in agreement, forming the wall with him to protect their girl. "Why did you shoot her when she's the one who helped you back up? I thought you'd go for Chloe first!" The emerald eyed boy made subtle gestures to Alya and Nino, indicating that they take Marinette away whilst he stalls Unprivatiser for some time. Unknowingly to them, he was risking his secret identity too and judging with how Plagg's claws were digging into his chest through the inner pocket, he doesn't have much time and he better not mess this up. "That's the thing! Just because she helped me back up doesn't mean she didn't have any nasty thoughts running through her head. I want to know what she really was thinking when she supposedly helped me up. Did she think I was pitiful and gross? Did she think I was a tramp? It feels too good to be true for the school's sweetest girl in the world to help out a boy who pissed himself without any judgemental thinking, right?" Suddenly, Marinette's will completely shattered and her mouth opened without consent. "Oh my God, oh my God! If anyone finds out that I take bites out of Kit Kats, they'll have my head!" The girl grasped her hands back towards her mouth, oblivious to everyone else's dumbstruck faces and internally begged her body to listen to her mind. Her hand and mouth seemed to think otherwise. "I also like drinking ice cold water straight after brushing my teeth because the sting helps wake me up better than coffee!" Was the next thing Marinette blurted out. The only thing she could do was pace and her hands tugged on her twin tails. Nino and Alya exhaled in relief, thanking heaven for not ruining Mari's day. "Hey- Le Papillon? What the hell is this?" The butterfly silhouette appeared over Unprivatiser's face, irritation pumping through his veins. Thus, a one-sided argument was heard and Adrien took the opportunity to usher his friends out of the danger zone. He kept his hands behind Marinette's shoulders and nodded towards the others to follow him so that they can hide elsewhere. Much to his dismay, Alya had her phone whipped out to livestream the villain whilst Nino slumped to his knees in hopelessness. Once his girlfriend makes a decision, she sticks to it, no matter what. Shaking his head, he supposed that with them two out of the way, it would be easier to find a secluded place to transform. First, he needs to get Marinette to safety. "We'll head to your bakery, how does that sound?" Adrien asked gently and squeezed her shoulders reassuringly as he sped them towards her home. "N-N-No! Ack! Your father is supposed to be a fashion designer so what's with the revolting candy cane, white mocha frappuccino, whipped cream looking ass clothes he wears on a daily basis!?" The girl snapped her hands back against her mouth in horror, wishing for the ground to swallow her up. "White...mocha...frappuccino...?"

That's it... Forget about secret identities... She's clearly going to be hated by Adrien forever, never get married with him and have their three kids and a hamster, also get blacklisted from every fashion industry in Europe and die ALONE- "Pffft-" Her pitiful monologue within her chaotic mind was halted by an uncharacteristic snort from the blonde. That soon turned into laughter despite Adrien holding a fist against his lips. Before they knew it, he burst out laughing like no tomorrow, hooting against the wall and clutching his stomach. Tears streamed out of his eyes as he kept repeating what she said over and over again. Marinette didn't know whether to be embarrassed or savour this moment; it was the second time she's ever heard him laugh so freely ever since he gave her that umbrella in the rain.   "W-W-White mo-mocha frapp-frappuccino! Oh man! I can't unsee that now! Hahahah!" He collapsed on the floor, ignorant to any passerbyers' worried glances or mischievious expressions. "I can't believe it! Pffft!" "If you keep laughing like that, you'll make the sun envy you because of how much you shine compared to it..." Her tone was soft and loving at first but Marinette quickly gritted her teeth to prevent herself from saying anymore. Damn akuma...damn Adrien and his beautiful laugh! The boy appeared to be awestrucked from her words, clearing the laughter away from his system and butterflies erupted in his stomach. He lowered his eyes sweetly with a chortle, cupping one of her hands with his and beamed. "Thank you, that's very sweet of you, Marinette," He didn't mind the way his heart richotated against his chest like it usually does around Ladybug. He's already had his freakout from his sudden discovery of his growing feelings for his shy classmate, months ago. Or perhaps they were there all along? He's not going to admit it out loud to avoid a smug, insufferable kwami though. "Not as sweet as the three containers of sugar I devoured when I was five." The poor girl smacked her forehead and growled, cursing the akuma whilst it continued to argue with Le Papillon in the park. Adrien bit his lip to avoid laughing again. Though it was oh so tempting to tease her... It wouldn't harm anyone, would it? Just to let a bit of his Chat Noir side seep out? "Is that so~?" He smirked. Marinette instantly grasped his game, a cute scowl took over her face as she took a step back. Adrien took a large step forward in retaliation. He should go and transform right now...but teasing Marinette is so fun! Surely Ladybug won't mind if he's late for a minute or two, considering how harmless the akuma is? "When I first saw snow, I thought it was icing sugar and proceeded to try and eat it." Mari sucked her teeth in, walking backwards, trying to get away from the devious blonde. "How adorable, do tell more," He followed her steps, arms behind his back. He didn't care that they were headed to some random direction instead of the safe destination he wanted Marinette to be at earlier on. "Grrr- I freaked out when I visited a farm a couple of years ago because some chickens stole my crisps. They were roast chicken flavour and I thought they committed cannibalism!" "Oho?" "Turns out, they were only artificially flavoured." "Thank God for that," "I wish God was nice to me for once and allowed me a day where I don't embarrass myself." She systematically glared at the sky before back at the snickering model. "I wouldn't say that this is embarrassing," "Yeah you're right, not as embarrassing as when I accidentally called Monsieur. Damocles 'Papa' last week," "I think that's also very cute." Adrien's grin broadened when Marinette's back hit a lampost, leaving her no room to run now. The cat and mouse game has finally come to an end- an inside  joke he sadly couldn't say out loud despite how fitting it was for the situation due to secret identities. "Not as cute as that little baby with its parents over there, I hope one day my kids look as cute as them," Marinette was distracted by the family scurrying away from the park, a subtle smile rested on her lips. Adrien felt his heart skyrocket and let out an inaudible gasp. He leaned into her face, prompting her to flush and look away. She so was going to kill him after the akuma is purified. "They definitely will be since their mother is so beautiful," Boldly, Adrien brushed his knuckles against her fringe, gazing into her with such strong intensity that Marinette could have sworn that she was looking at... Chat Noir. "You remind me of a certain feline who made himself home with half of my heart," 

Sapphire orbs and emerald orbs widened simultaneously with matching gasps, inducing the former to dash off with a squeal and bidding goodbye to any potential romantic chances she had with Adrien. After all, who on earth compares their best friend to their crush when he's flirting with you? Why was he flirting with a klutz like her in the first place?! "You have terrible tastes in women!" Marinette cried out mournfully, not looking back to see Adrien's reaction. If she did, she would have seen how his face took on a raspberry hue, one hand grasping his face and eyes still wide. His heart thundered and his body shook ever so slightly. "Plagg...? Does that mean...she's still in love with Chat Noir?" The lazy God popped his head out of his safe pocket and narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "Ooooh? What's with that face? I thought Princess was 'just a friend' to you, kid." This caused the blood to flare up in Adrien's cheeks again. He could feel the vibrations of Plagg's quiet laughter for goodness sake! Swallowing down his pride, Adrien shook his head. "Don't tease me now...you're the first to point out my crazy crush on her anyways..." Plagg didn't get a chance to retort back as the sounds of the akuma yelling and the crowd scattering filled the air. "Anyone who disagrees with the fact that mayonnaise and pizza is a Godly combination, deserves to face my wrath! Especially the pineapple-stans!" "If I have to suffer with the fact that our intestines are basically eels in our body, so do you!" "I can't break the habit of dipping my fries in my milkshakes..." "My boss still hasn't realised that I'm the one who stole his donuts!" "I feel like pissing on the moon." "What is love~! Baby don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! No more~" "I don't know whether to be horrified or amused with how similar Gabriel Agreste's hair looks compared to a duck's ass- oH SHIT HIS SON HEARD ME-" Stifling another laughing fit, Adrien darted off to a remote alleyway to finally transform. Contrary to popular beliefs, everytime someone makes a dig or jab at his father, Adrien can't help but agree most of the time. There is no justification for such horrendous hair after all- and his daily clothing now that he thinks about it. "Heheh...mocha frappuccino though Plagg..." His snickers started to build up, regardless to his kwami's groans. Thankfully, he composed himself in a matter of seconds and transformed. ~(x)~ "Long time no see, My Lady!" Chat Noir performed a perfect acrobatic flip, landing elegantly on his feet and grinned with his iconic cheshire smirk. It was wiped off after Unprivatiser dodged another one of Ladybug's yoyo swings whilst she tried to clamp her mouth shut with her free hand. She leapt back so that she was by Noir's side, smiling painfully before smacking her hand back on her lips. Chat suddenly realised the severity of the issue, letting out a colourful swear for wasting time earlier on and was about to clasp his hands against her lips when her hands fell. Ladybug CANNOT reveal her identity! "It took you long enough you slowpoke! Any second later and I'd have blurted out how I fell asleep in my bowl of cereal this morning!" Well, too late for that. "Where were you? Busy flirting with other girls? Hmmph!" It was literally killing the boy to not laugh right now. "Just the one, Bugaboo~ You remind me of her a lot so I suppose I have a type?" Chat mused out loud, dodging the beams that Unprivatiser threw. Whilst the villain shrieked for their miraculouses, the black cat continued. "Jealous?" He twirled his baton to deflect more of the beams, in sync with Ladybug twirling her yoyo. "I shouldn't be but I bloody I am," Just like that, Chat Noir's whole world came to a halt and Ladybug's pride was finally tattered to smithereens. "W-What?" "Don't make me say how you've already infected half of my heart with your stupid gooey kitty eyes and dumb affections and annoying power of turning my heart into a jackhammer every time you're near!" The blonde teen couldn't believe his ears. "Holy shit..." He whispered softly. "This isn't real..." Their distraction costed them dearly. The duo was instantly engulfed in the akuma's golden beam, the boy admonishing for the jewels once again and made his displeasure of their 'flirting' clear. "Just hurry up and gimme! I have the most dumbest power ever and if I get those jewels, butterfly man will give me an upgrade so that I can finally teach Bourgeois a lesson!" Unprivatiser ignored the old villain's muttering of "It's Le Papillon you brat..." in his mind, getting ready to tackle the heroes. "I'm already a bit of a stereotypical blonde dummy and I don't need your dumb powers to dumb me down even further! Though to be fair the amount of anime I have watched has stunted my view on social norms-" Chat spluttered out without control, close to slapping his hand against his lips by instinct. However, he processed his words and hummed. "This isn't too bad, right Lovebug?" He cheekily elbowed her side with a wink, heart fluttering from her sudden confession and mind still trying to process that. "At least you didn't have to make a fool out of yourself in front of the two boys you love," She dragged them both away to another rooftop with the swing of her yoyo. She really wanted to just get rid of this akuma and run back home without a word but her mind was already combusting to the brim with unsaid words that desperately wanted to be spilled. "You love me too?!" Chat almost lost his footing. "B-B-But I think I love the other girl too-" "FANTASTIC! Perfect timing! The moment I lost my chance with the other dumbass and finally confess to you after so long-" "That long!?" "MISS WONDER GIRL decides to show up and now you're smitten with HER!" "To be fair, I was crushing on her ever since I met her-" "REMARKABLE! I really am destined to be alone! All cos I told him that he reminded me of you!" "Wait- WHAT-" Chat Noir didn't get a chance to comprehend the puzzle he's accidently solved. "JUST. GIVE. ME. YOUR. MIRACULOUSES!" Unprivatiser shot himself against the building the heroes were standing on like a bullet, demolishing it into pieces. He was fast but they were much faster. Ladybug and Chat Noir landed on the barren street. Their bodies seem to be on attack mode but their minds were still in a huge mess. "OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod-" Was all that Chat was able to muster, never letting his lovestruck eyes leave his Lady's form as she summoned her lucky charm. "I knew it, I called it, I KNEW THAT YOU'RE- wait...is that Lucky Charm..." . . . "...White mocha frappuccino? Like Gabriel Agreste's ugly clothes?" Neither her nor Unprivatiser were able to exchange anymore words as Chat Noir abruptly collapsed into a puddle of guffaws and laughter. His fists slammed against the floor and he was unable to stop the words from spilling his mouth over and over again. "Oh man...it was only ever one guy I made myself a fool of..." Ladybug sighed out, albeit fondly. She'll freak out later but for now, she's got a job to do. "N-Now, now! I recall mentioning that it was cute a few time, Princess," Chat heaved himself off the floor, leaning against his Lady's shoulder for support so that he doesn't fall into another laughing fit again. "...It's not fair that you've barely said any embarrassing things despite getting hit by the beam," Ladybug puffed a cheek out, tossing the frappuccino at the akuma's lower midriff when he tried to attack again, soaking him instantly. "That's because I am the incarnate of embarrassment anyways. Plus, I always say what's on my mind regardless. Like that one time I asked what Pere and Mere were doing in the dark when I stumbled into their room- I think I was five? Maybe four-" He softly cataclysmed the cloak that Unprivatiser wore, replaced by ashes and a fluttering corrupted butterfly. The magic wore off and in place was a timid looking boy wearing the spare clothes that the school gave him after his accident. "Weren't they hugging? That's what my parents always tell me every time I enter their room after hearing weird noises." She purified the butterfly and performed the miraculous cure. "Oh my God...are you really that innocent?!" Chat only received a confused blink from her. A blush took over his face and his need to protect her increased by tenfolds. ~(x)~

The dynamic duo comforted the poor boy for a bit, giving him an extra confidence boost before leaping away as their final minutes beeped in their miraculouses. Naturally, Ladybug and Chat Noir chose a deserted classroom in their school as their destination, considering how lunch time was almost over. A heavy silence was left in the air and the two couldn't help but look anywhere else but at each other's eyes. Their transformation crackled away in sync, leaving behind two astonished teenagers and their hungry companions (the kwamis dived into Marinette's purse to ensure that their charges had some privacy). It was one thing to know. It was another thing to see. Marinette connected her two pointer fingers, looking down at them as her cheeks pinkened into a delightful sakura shade, tempting Adrien to kiss them. The boy in question had a hand itching the back of his head but couldn't help but let a silly smile grow on his lips. One look at his face had Marinette's follow suit. They snickered at first, trying hard to stay composed but one more glance at each other caused them to break out into giggles. What an eventful day! "I can't believe I got outed by a frappuccino- heh!" Adrien joyfully opened his arms, inviting Marinette to step into them so that he could wrap her in an embrace. The girl wrapped her arms around his waist, sighing happily into his chest. "Don't know if it beats me getting outed by confessing that I confessed to you that I liked you...?" Her nose scrunched up charmingly. "That makes no sense." "You rejected me, for me, I rejected you, for you but fell in love with you despite you and you fell in love with me despite me, yes, ten out of ten sense in the romance department." Marinette rolled her eyes at Adrien's dramaticness. "All of this drama and heartache could have been resolved if it weren't for the identities, Chaton! Ugh!" "Please...my brain hurts too much already from all of this." "I want to go home and scream into my pillow, or devour every single pastry at the bakery...anything to keep my mouth busy," "Oh?" Slowly, Marinette pulled away, only getting as far as a few centimeters away due to the way Adrien's arms locked itself around her body. He didn't seem to intend on letting her go anytime soon. "You could..." She bit her lip, not missing the way his eyes flickered down there for a second. "Kiss me instead?" Adrien's eyes darkened at her request and brought his hands to cup her cheeks and tilt it upwards so that their eyes could meet. He moved closer with a careful procision. He tilted his head at a perfect angle and his fingers dug into her dark tresses. Their foreheads were now touching, letting their hair entangle with one another and their chests were pressed against the other. Marinette let her eyes flutter shut the moment she felt his warm breath hit her lips whilst her heart was close to exploding in anticipation. Their lips brushed every so softly and then- "You know, we still have to talk about your unlawful ways of eating a Kit Kat." The moment was gone. . . . ~(x)~ A/N: It's almost five in the morning... I hope you're all h a p p y .

[keyenuta]

TW Prologue: So enters the Wizard part 3

   AN// If y’all want to check out the earlier parts here ya go!  But with that out of the way lets start the chapter~ pt1, pt2

                                                            ~~~

       Even after the battle ended moments ago, the feelings of both party's magic still crackled in the air. The warm fury of Grim's flames and the erratic crackling of Zoroaster's magic still seemed to battle like echoes. Rarely ceasing even as Crowley began to speak, he welcomed the new students in and congratulated Zoro on his win. His yellow glowing eyes curving into crescents as he gave a welcoming smile to all 6 of the students of NRC. Now, finally turning to his oh so trusted prefect, Crowley said,

"Oh Prefect, could you be so gracious and guide the dorm to their new home, I will join soon but I have, some, ahem, very busy-busy work I must complete, I'm sure you you understand." 

     As Yuu went to speak, each time a sound left their mouth, they saw Crowley leaving faster and faster. Either mistakenly or on purpose, the headmaster didn't hear the prefect's voice as he slithered away. Leaving Yuu to do his work once more. Relenting in a massive sigh, Yuu pinched the bridge of their nose

     Already tired and annoyed,the prefect gazed up at their dorm mates and gave a strained smile. Even though the headmaster was, shady to say the least, at least they now had more members besides Grim in ramshackle. Speaking of which, Grim now found himself once again in the accursed death grip that was, Theodore's bombardment of pets and hugs.

"Ffnnrrgh! Lemme go, I'm not some pet you know?!!" Grim hissed at the boy, digging his paws desperately into the black fabric. Frantically grasping at the green boy's cloak, trying to wiggle and nudge out the assault of love, but sadly the magician found no escape in sight. "Rragh! Tall minion, save me!" The monster called, only to be left purring seconds after.

Speaking of his "minion," Zoroaster's face cranked into a playful grin at the sight in front of him. Leaning on his cane, and resting his head in his hands the dorm leader chuckled and gave an answer.

" awwwe, why'd i do that?" He cooed before straighting up, as soon a trinkle sparkled in his gold eyes as he snapped his left hand to the air, clawing to the sky as with each inflection his voice grew in size and power. As every title he bestowed upon Grim became more explosive than the last "

     The great, magnificent and powerful! raccoon," he evened out, "looks like he's enjoyin' himself alot" shrugging, he strolled a bit forward and gave the monster a mock bow, "now, who's lil' ole me to disturb that" he snickered.

"Raccoon?! I am not-prrr, a raccoon!"

"Oh my mistake, the great kitten~"he teased

"I'm not a cat mmm-neither! Uggh, Yuu, do something!" He begged

     Giggling lightly, the perfect said "if you're both enjoying yourselves so much I can't bring myself to stop it. Sorry grim, have fun you two, be sure not to go too crazy okay?" Pausing for a moment with elation in his brown eyes, Theodore quickly gave the two a quick salute before smiling brightly.

"Aye aye prefect! Which to this, Zoro gave a two finger salute, and Yuu simply nodded before they continued with a clap of their hands.

"I guess a greeting's in order, hello everyone, my name is Yuu Nezumi, you can call me whatever you want to. Like Headmaster Crowley said, I'm the perfect. You can ask me anything pretty much, Heheh" 

     they said bashfully, they're used to being small but still. Being surrounded by so many people taller than them is still unnerving at times. They're so thankful for riddle, at least he's close to their height a bit.

"Ahem, just everyone follow me alright? I'll show you all to the dorm soon!" They brightly said, turning on their heels to lead the group. Only receiving a few few okays, sures, aye-ayes and one grunt from Dorothy as they began to walk off.

     Watching the group for a time, Zoro kicked the tip of the cane and swung it on his shoulder. The movements almost second nature to him at this point. But before he could follow the group out, he soon heard an increasing rush of foot steps thunder towards him. Turning to his right, he saw a boy with golden locks and purplish highlights sway his hips in a march, stamping towards him like he did a national crime. With a slight frown on his model face, the boy simply yelled,

"Ozma! A word would you please?" Despite the question, it sounded more like a demand by his stiff tone. Eyes drifting to the group again, he shrugged and turned to face the approaching boy.

"Mmm, sure what's up pretty boy" he said casually, wonder what he needs me for the boy thought, but whatever else was tumbling through his mind, nothing prepared him for what he heard next.

"Take off, your belt!" The boy demanded pointedly

"Eh?" The Wizard asked, gold eyes widening in honest disbelief, looking to the other dorm heads, he saw the red head from befire face palm, the silver haired boy still looked as carefree as ever, and the glasses wearing boy simply hummed in amusement. "Wha- no, the heck you mean take off my belt?" The wizard chuckled, only to see on the pretty boy's face, a stone serious look, like his purple eyes are trying to bore a holes through him second after second.

"As an upperclassmen, and especially as head of dorm Pomfiore, I must advise you on wearing our schools robes properly!" He grasped Zoroaster's top robe and tried to force it together "they are our School's most formal attire, and must be respected, do you understand me? As dorm leader you are the representation of every member of your dorm" He nagged, only to find his manicured hands swatted away whilst the wizard's off hand returned to his waist.

"Alright karen, first thing, nah, I'm not fixing anything. Second of all, they're just clothes." He shrugged, clothes were just clothes to him, and he'd wear them how he decided. "Besides, who're you to be orderin' me around?" Vil's pristine eyebrows cocked up at taller boy, how rude of him, thought the model

But before the argument could continue, a voice interrupted the model before he could speak, as soon the clicks of the shorter boy approached the two dorm leaders.

"Vil, while I agree with what you've said completely, I would also like to advise Zoroaster as well" Riddle said to Vil sighing in response, walking off with Rook in tow.

"Oh it's the short one" Zoro spoke bluntly, but soon a surge of anger filled the room, as playful gold eyes met anger filled silver.

"Did, did you just call me...short?!" Riddle spat, his face instantly contorting from stern to rage-filled in seconds as his brows furrowed, glaring at the smirking boy before him Riddle slowly took in deep breaths as he tried to calm himself once more. "Huff, if it were any other day I would have your head, count yourself lucky, Ozma" he said smugly

"Oh i'd like to see ya try, though wouldn't ya just get my chest, shrimpy~" he teased, gazing as the red began to fill the second year once again.

"Grrr, My my, eager to be shown your place I see~? Well I would be happy to oblige, but for now, listen to this, as dorm leader of Heartslaybul, I'll give you this advice, as a dorm head. It is your responsibility to look after those under you. If someone shall fail it is on you, lead them as best you can!" As Zoro saw riddle's expression, for a moment he saw the stern face of the boy become lost in thought, but soon the stern walls were back up as he and the rest of his dorm made their leave.

Though as they began to walk off, a boy with curly silver locks and murky violet eyes walked up to the dorm leader as well. With a thin smile crossing his face, Azul gifted Zoro a pleasant smile, but that expression never reached his eyes as he clapped for the boy before him

"That was a fantastic show Zoroaster, it nearly brought a tear to my face I must say. It is certainly wonderful to have a..." The more Azul spoke the more muffled his voice became to Zoroaster. Every word that left Azul's mouth was coated with honey and that made Zoro's mind swim with memories. As two voices whispered in his thoughts, a faceless pair of people hovered in his mind. Memories were flooding second after second as the dorm leader spoke, being drowned out by the voices in Zoro's mind.

     A manipulative brassy voice rumbled in his ears, his father's words slithered in his mind the longer the exchange went on. "Step one, make someone comfortable, show 'em a charming face or personality, sweeten every word before going forward" Check Zoro thought, as after a while of talking Azul began to finish what he was saying.

"But just so you know, if you ever need any help feel free to visit the Monstro lounge at any time. I'm certain we can come to some sort of deal. Heheh, especially for such a treasured underclassmen such as yourself~" he sang, but as he went to continue, a tsk and three simple words broke his concentration.

"shut up bitch!" At this Azul's eyes widened as he tried to make sure he heard Zoroaster correctly.

"E-Excuse me? I'm sorry what did I ever do to upset you?" Azul prodded. Scratching the back of his head, Zoro lazily kicked the ground beside him as he sighed and looked dead into Azul's glasses covered eyes.

"Huff, I'm guessin' as soon as you make a deal, you bleed 'em dry and leave them with nothin' huh?" Every word and accusation that left Zoro described with venom as once more memories flooded in his head, images of begging and destitute people snapped in his head before he asked the second again, "How's my guess Azul, accurate?" Cocking his head to the side, he eased forward towards Azul, nearly getting eye to eye with the robed dorm leader, like he was daring the octopus to prove him wrong.

"Oh, it saddens me that you think so dear Ozma. Why, I don't know what you could be talking about, I own a very respectable business, I simply give aid to our fellow students, to help such unfortunate souls as best I can. I assure you, there's nothing to fear" Azul said, feigning being insulted by Zoroaster's guess as a genuine smirk soon began to cross upon Azul's face. Soon followed up by an obviously fake smile of Zoroaster's in return.

"Oh~ but of course my mistake, you're quite the philanthropist indeed~" Zoro mockingly copied azul's cadence and voice as he spoke, exaggerating every inch of falseness with every syllable. "But, I must say, you've inspired me, Azul"

"Oh ho? Well I'm happy to be of assistance Zoroaster"

"Mmm, as am I, for the longest I was wondering if I should reopen my shop, but seeing you has made my decision clear in reopening it. Honestly, I wouldn't mind offering you a break once in a while, I'm sure you must be tired being so, so kind" now standing before each other, both smirked a fake grin, teasing and challenging the other in a cordial manner.

"My goodness, that is certainly quite the decision, I wish you the best in that endeavor Mr.Ozma~"

"And as to you, Dorm leader~" after bidding the three adieu, Zoroaster began to walk off, not just because of his mood, but also because the longer he stayed, the farther the group was getting. But right before he left completely, the new dorm head paused for a moment, before turning to the last remaining dorm and vice dorm leaders before saying this.

"oh, almost forgot!" 

     He chirped, turning his head back around a wicked fast weight pf magic filled the room, crackling erratically has Zoro's eyes once more blazed green. "If any, of my dorm members are hurt because of y'all. I'll pay you back two times what you did. I promise that" He threatened, but just as soon as that pressure arrived, it left in a snap as just like that, Zoroaster became easy going once more.

"Buuut yeah i should head out, dont wanna be lost now do I?" He hummed, chasing after the prefect.

Ramshackle Dorm~

"And this, is the dorm, home sweet home...heheh" behind Yuu was a leaning, nailed window having, wood chipoing and web wrapped dorm, as to add insult to injury, a plank of wood fell in a dusty heap. A knowing sensation weighed on Yuu's shoulders when they turned to their dorm mates. Walking farther a creak followed Yuu as a rainbow of expressions shone from the foyer. Utter terror(Regis), belly aching laughter(Zoro), oohing curiosity(Theodore), blinks of confusion(Solon), and a look of anger and neutrality from Dorothy and Fiyero respectively. "The headmaster said it had, character" they deadpanned

"Pfft, this-this is way too much character heheheh, but that definitely explain a lot" lumbering over, Dorothy pushed passed his cackling dorm head , as the floor cried with every stomp he took eeeer, eeer. Like it was threatening to just drop him then and there.

"You mean to tell me, we fixin' to lay here for the night?!" Dorothy barked, his eyes folding into a scowl as his fists balled at the prefect. Knuckles on his waist, and red eyes boring into Yuu's, the brunette snarled at the prefect. But by this point, Yuu was beyond tired, and paid the country boy no mind. Instead, they gave a high pitched laugh, and a thin grin, stepping up to taller boy groaning,

"Haha, if you want to sleep outside be my guest" they motioned before plopping down on the couch, kicking up dust. But that wasn't all, as in a flash three milky white forms erupted from the seats. Soaring and whirling around the students like a hurricane of laughs and jeers.

"G-g-g-g GHOSTS!!! Oh-oh no, let me go, please don't possess me!" Regis stuttered racing for the door, his sandled feet only getting so far to just get yanked back a second later by the top hat ghosts teasing him all the while.

"Awww stay a whi- yeep!" As Ghost A pulled the cat, he had to dart away dropping him in like a sack. As a bolt of lightning near blasted him away as from the group, he saw a dark skinned boy with crackling green eyes smiling wildly in the chaos, aiming a black cane to the sky with a toothy grin.

"What in the sam hill, boy get yo' self up ya lion, shoot ya claws out or something, it's ghost punchin' time" Dorothy called yanking up Regis, who only clung back to his tree trunk of a leg. Though since both are brick houses, it was more a wrecking ball wrapping around a bucking tree. "motgetdjb, let go 'o me ya varment!"

"Ooh! Ghosts are so cool, maybe they're friendly!" Chirped Theodore "Heya big guy! Hows it going!" Theodore waved happily at Ghost B

"Gah! Ghost, save me~" grim cried, still even now trapped inside Theo's arms.

"Hohoho, nice to meet ya too kiddo!" Chortled ghost b, as in the case of Solon, he only gazed around in bewilderment, raking his silver arm through his ginger hair. And as for Fiyero, well the scarecrow only shrugged and said,

"Welp, guess I'll die" as he watched the ghosts fly, but soon enough a shrill whistle tore through air, as Yuu stood,

"Hey! Everyone calm down, those guys are friendly, and for you three, those are our new dorm mates. Huff" they sighed. This is way too long a day thought Yuu. But after that break, all the ghosts could do now, was just hug the new arrivals. Laughing and (if they could) crying as they glomped the new residents. As of they didn't just haunt them all a second earlier.

Ghost A: sniff, hahaha, told you two these were special!

Ghost B: hoho, I'm so glad to see this, after all this time, if i still had it, my heart would've skipped a beat

Ghost C: nyheheh, who's dorm leader now? Laughing in confusion from the switch, and gazing at the group around him, Zoro wiggled his cane free and raised it to the air, waving it saying,

"Sup, it's me!" Zoro grunted, a ciruois chirp left the thin Ghost's mouth as he descended to the gold eyed boy. Inspecting and floating all around him from every angle. "Uhhh, everything alright here?" Zoro didnt know what to think honestly, this was the weirdest introduction of his life, but dang was it fun so far.

Ghost C: hmmm, so far, so far, tell me new Dorm leader! How, tall are you?

The ghost's nasally voice became straight and serious, pausing snd adding weight to every word as ge got closer to the brown boy. His sunken eyes staring deep into Zoro's blinking ones.

"Uhhh, 6'2"??" He shrugged

Ghost C: you are, perfect! Nyeheheh, you remind me of my past self!

Ghost B: hohoho, but you were never dorm leader

Ghost C: Shush, I was in the running, I'm certain next year i would have been in charge! No doubt about it!

     Resting his white fists proudly on his...waist, Ghost C puffed out his chest as through a smirk, Zoro said, 

 "heh, it's nice to meet y'all too, but can ya guys back up? I think Regi's 'bout to feint" and true to his guess, the dread having lion was a pale brown and was leaning-or rather falling on Dorothy, who was currently trying(and failing) to punch a ghost and keep the Lion upright at the same time. 

     But thankfully the three ghosts let up and finally the group eased back down, some sitting on the ground and in Theo's case, bouncing on his feet to meet the ghosts as quick as possible, talking among st the Ghosts as Grim once lire tried to gain freedom, but once more met his dreaded enemy, head pats. Though really after a quick meet and greet, Yuu gave them all a tour of the dorm. Or rather what needs to be fixed. As winding through the halls, multiple cobwebs, fallen parts, and scattered clothes, dust and more stretched as far as the eye could see. Scratching the back of his head, Zoro talked as they went down the crotchety steps.

"All that character huh, ain't the headmaster help at all?" He asked, only to get a dry laugh from Yuu,

"If by help you mean nothing, yeah, he helps a whole lot." They droned, drooping down. Zoro patted the prefect on the back as Grim gnarled angrily

"Nrggh, that cheapskate still owes me my tuna to this day!" raising an eyebrow Zoro looked to Yuu who only shook their head,

"Long story, I'll tell it later"

"Got ya, alrighty" coming to a pause in the living room, Zoro twirled his cane while talking in pace "since we got a lotta stuff to clean, and sadly fix, let's at least get everyone somewhere to sleep. Unless y'all wanna share a couch that is" he smirked, looking at the group, he saw a shakey hand raise up, pointing the handle of his cane at Regis, he said "Oh what's up Regi? And just so ya know, you can just go out with it man, ain't gotta raise your hand" leaning on the cane, he listened to the stuttering lion.

"i-im fine sleeping on the couch." He nodded "w-what if there's a poisonous spider in my room or-or" cutting him off Dorothy said

"can it, there ain't gon' be nothin' there ya varment!" He huffed

"u-um right away-you'll never hear a peep out of me again, i-im ready to clean Zoroa- I mean dorm leader sir!" He saluted

"Good! Cause Dorothy's on cleaning duty first!" He smiled cheekily, to which the boy in question looked at him like what in the heck did you just say?!

"tsk, the heck I am?! Who the heck you think you are?!"

"I'm a guy who don't wanna share a couch with 5 people, but here's a deal, how ' bout I help ya clean, that'll make you stop complaining?"

"Feh, fine fine ya skunk lookin' silo" he grumbled to a still smirking Zoro who have him a thumbs up, saying

"Wonderful, well no time like the present, come on~ let's go~" he sang, guiding Dorothy upstairs, "For now, I leave down stairs to Yuu, good luck everyone!" He called.

Minutes later~

With cleaning in full swing, from both the living and dead members of the dorm, soon enough there was knock at the door. Dust cresting their brow, and sweat soaking their robes, Yuu with a now finally freed Grim on their shoulder, walked over to see who it was. Turning the faded knob, there now stood Crowley walking in the foyer.

"Ahh, greetings prefect, I hope the students have adjusted well to...their character filled home"

"Yeah, at the moment we're cleaning out rooms for everyone." a light chuckle left Crowley, while his glowing eyes peered at the dorm at work. Regis was shakingly dusting spider webs, Theodore spawned all sorts of little creatures, helping him clean the rooms in the back, and up stairs the low echoes of Zoroaster and Dorothy bounced back and forth as they moved bits and pieces of debris with Solon in tow.

"My my, this does bring a tear to my eyes, I never thought I'd ever see this dorm return. What a fortunate day indeed Heheh, ah but prefect, I must say, you are so gracious for offering your aid to this dorm~"

"Hm? What do you mean? We live here too, it's the least we could do" but turning to the old crow, they saw his face going serious.

"Ah, that is why i am here, I'm terribly sorry Prefect, but you and Grim cannot stay. "

"Wait what?!" They asked incredulously

"Hey! What the heck are you talking about!" Yelled grim, but as the prefect looked at Crowley's masked face, their stomach turnt and spiked like it fell down a brakeless elevator.

"With this dorm once more being active, I am sorry but i cannot allow you to stay here. Oh, but do not worry, for I am gracious I've found a lovely spot in the gardens for you both" cooed Crowley, soon enough a pair of feet thumped against the creaking floor as Zoroaster, covered in soot and dust walked over to the foyer as well.

"Oh, Heya headmaster, what's happenin?" He asked, as his gold eyes trailed over Grim and Yuu, studying their faces as Crowley repeated what he just said. Zoroaster's eyes narrowed as his gloves fingers dug into the palm of his hand. Through gritted teeth, then wizard said "That's bull shit!" In a roar, causing everyone else to pause, trying to see what the commotion was about.

"Now mr.Ozma, while your concern is admirable, I cannot have the prefect stay in an active dorm, they're not apart of any dorm after all" and as this discussion went on, so too did the rest of the dorm begin to crowd, and right after hearing a quick explanation of what's happening, a mix of reactions sparked. First Theodore snatched Grim and held him close to his chest. Saying,

"If you throw out Grim you'll have to pry him from my cold green hands!" And as for Dorothy, he was in the opposite camp, he did care two ways about it, he went back off to clean. Fiyero was a little better, but not by much, as the scarecrow merely said,

"Awww, that's a shame" he groaned, though even during that, it was like he could feel for a brief moment, the headmaster eyes following him closely, but when he went to look, they were elsewhere. Geez, those crows got me paranoid he thought, and for Solon, he stepped close with his clunking parts and said,

"Well headmaster, there has to be Some way they can stay after all." But to this the tin man received a solemn shake of the head from Crowley. And as for what Regis felt about this, whatever he wanted to say was choked up by his fear. But just as Crowley was about to make his leave, about to lead grim and Yuu away, Zoroaster grew a devilish smile and in a song song voice said,

"Oh~ just like that headmaster? It's a shame really, I mean, just think of the headlines to come." Ahem clearing his throat, Zoroaster mockingly spoke like a news anchor, straight, and falsely shocked at the headline "NRC headmaster cannot find a place for his staff to sleep, such a tragedy~" he wailed, but walking up to the old crow, Zoro smirked and shrugged his shoulders, as his voice got long and sly,

"though ya knooow, there seems to be plenty of room here, wouldn't be a problem at all to have em stay. Especially since most of us ain't got a problem with it. But sadly, it's such a tragedy you have to throw them out, but eh, i'm sure the news would love to have a field day with this~" resting a hand on his chin, Crowley began to envision the paparazzi, all the questions and the loss of revenue, frantically shaking his head, returned back to the dorm leader and gave a coy smile.

"Oh hohoho, Mr.Ozma there's no need to take this to the news I assure you. What is your proposition, I swear I shall hear it out, for I am gracious" at that last word, Zoroaster's eye twitched as in his mind he thought, I'm gonna start counting everytime he says that. But back to reality he held up two fingers,

"Its a simple bet, nothin' to worry about. Here's what I got, if I win, ya have to allow Yuu and Grim to be part of the dorm no questions asked, they're full members." For a moment, Zoro paused as he thought of an idea, bringing back his smirk once more "Oh, and one more thing, ya gotta refer to me by my full name for a month, middle ones included." And when he finished, a voice from the back yelled,

"Make him give me ten cans of tuna too!" Chimed grim

"Heheh, that too" Zoro chuckled, but now was time for Crowley to interject,

"And what if I win?"

"Simple really, all of us don't let this bad press out, in fact we'll do the opposite, we'll give you glowing reviews and recommendations, and you can still go with your original plan. So how 'bout it teach, whether or not you win or lose, it's a win-win. "

"Hmmm, hmmm, very well, let us begin the bet, though what will we be playing Ozma?" And with a chuckle from his throat, the dorm leader sifted through a pile of belongings and pulled out a deck of multi-colored cards.

"Uno, a cards game"

"I see, let us begin!" Yelled the crow, as for minutes the game went on, plus 2s, skips, reversals, and yes, the dreaded plus 4 rained everywhere. But as the two reached their last hand of cards, Crowley held one, and Zoroaster held 4, but when yuu and Grimm saw behind the dorm leader, they honestly felt a bit sorry for the headmaster. As in the boy's hand was a row of hell and destruction, 4 plus 4s in a row!

"Heheheh, it was a pleasure doing this deal with ya teach, but I gotta say one thing, Uno!" Thump right atop the webbed coffee table Zoro slammed down his hand, as you saw the color drain from the headmaster's face. As a cry of elation from Theodore filled the room as he bear hugged grim, followed by a pair of more and more subdued cheers, but it was on this day, the new ramshackle dorm was truly formed, over a game of Uno.

Everyone in Dorm uniforms-

Zoroaster(Dorm leader)

Yuu Nezumi(1/2 Vice Dorm Leader)

Dorothy Squal

Theodore Elphaba

Fiyero Corbin

Solon Argento

Regis Anakh

(The reason why some wear kilts and others wear cloaks will be explored in a short story coming soon)

[hotel-japanifornia]

Like, I love Miles Edgeworth, but he's overshadowing literally everyone else. Like he's not overrated since he actual holds up to his love, but damn, there are so many fics on him and his story from the og trilogy only. Miles has grown up beyond it and I love him for it since it makes him three dimensional.

Ok, you wanna know what greatly amuses me about you mentioning how people only pay attention to him and his story from the og trilogy only?

Edgeworth plays an important role in 4 of the 5 cases in the original game (3 of 4 if you really hate RFTA and want to exclude it from your mind. Feel free to do so but you’ll be hella frustrated when you play AJ. Unless you liked Ema.)

He only appears in 1 of the four cases in JFA and is mentioned in 2 and cameos in 1. If you don’t count the cameo, which I do, that only adds up to 1 case. Comparatively a small role, but he has a big impact on Franziska’s motivations and is the reason she wants to crush Phoenix so badly. Points to Takumi for not doing a generic “avenge my father” plot. Respect him (and Franziska) for that. He does play an extremely important role in the one case he appears in, so don’t think I’m trying to downplay him or anything.

Edgeworth is majorly absent in the third game. He prosecutes in only one case and that’s his annoying 20 year old self. He comes back in the fifth case to fill in for the defense and does play a hand in Iris and Dahlia switching places. Had it not been for that earthquake, he wouldn’t have freaked out and lost sight of Iris in the first place. He doesn’t do a whole lot else after that though. 

I say this because if you think about it, Edgeworth is only in 7 of the original 14 cases if you count physical appearances only (6 out of 13 in the OG trilogy). While I won’t argue that Edgeworth isn’t important in the cases he’s in because he is totally, I will argue that it does feel odd how the focus is on him so much of the time.

And the thing is, I can see how people would argue how Edgeworth is the central character in the first game. Edgeworth is the character we see grow throughout the course of the game. We learn the most about him than any other character and the events of the game revolve around him (Turnabout Goodbyes, the DL-6 incident, etc) more than other characters besides Maya who shares a connection with him as they both lost parents to the DL-6 incident (how have those two not had more interactions, honestly?) and loses her sister in the second case.

I would argue however, that Edgeworth isn’t the character at the center of the second game although we do see him mentioned in conversations by Franziska and Phoenix. I don’t know why people will acknowledge his “Miles Edgeworth chooses death” note but absolutely refuse to acknowledge how awful of a move that was. The reason being is that it was cryptically worded and anybody reading it would think he killed himself which Franziska and Phoenix did, while Gumshoe was the only one who knew what really happened. I know what the note actually meant (i.e. the death of the prosecutor Edgeworth once was) but still, it was poorly worded. 

In actuality, Phoenix is the protagonist and central character of the second game. He’s the one who goes through the most growth as we see him face a huge moral dilemma in the fourth case where he has to choose between saving his friend or sending a truly guilty man to prison. It’s absolutely interesting to see him in conflict with the character he was up to that point (someone who believed his client was genuinely innocent) and it’s something I think needs to happen more often. By that I mean, defending truly guilty defendants. While I don’t think they should be like Matt Engarde necessarily, it would be interesting to see more truly guilty defendants. (I know there’s one in DGS but not everyone has played that one so I won’t spoil.)

As for the third game, it’s pretty obvious who the main protagonist in that game is. It’s the Fey Clan obviously. Specifically, we learn more about Mia Fey, Phoenix’s mentor, through getting to play as her during the tutorial case and the other tutorial case both of which are short but help us get to know Phoenix’s wise and calm mentor. We see her during her first two cases and even get to witness her taking down Dahlia Hawthorne in an amazingly cool manner (by asking her to prove her innocence by taking Phoenix’s cold medicine which she poisoned). We also see her during her first case which was mentioned in Turnabout Memories and was said to traumatize her so badly that she felt like she was never going to step into court again. Since her opponent, Bratworth, had never lost a case before Turnabout Sisters, we know that the case won’t end well. But even so, it’s what actually happens that makes the case so gutwrenching. Seeing Terry Fawles kill himself on the stand to protect his former girlfriend who was the true killer makes for a saddening end. Regardless of what you think of him as a character, seeing Mia so distraught over not being able to prevent Fawles’ death tugs at your heartstrings. 

What’s even worse is that six months later, she loses her boyfriend when he gets poisoned by Dahlia. Which does raise an interesting question: did she see the case against Wright and take it because she saw Dahlia mentioned in the case files and thought she might be connected to it? It’s likely, seeing as she brought the article talking about Diego’s poisoning with her but who knows? Either way, seeing her so determined to take Dahlia down that she’s willing to have her badge revoked is sincerely cool to watch.

And even in the present day case that Dahlia appears in, Bridge to the Turnabout, Mia doesn’t stop being rivals with Dahlia. When Maya channels Mia to ask her what she should do after Dahlia attacks her, Mia advises her to lock herself up in the Sacred Cavern in the Inner Temple and channel Dahlia in order to protect herself. It’s an extremely risky move on Mia’s part and had Dahlia not been so stubborn in seeing Maya’s corpse for herself without considering that she might be channeling her, Maya could have died of hypothermia in there (which isn’t something I had considered until the last year or so). Still, it works out in the end and Iris and Dahlia-in-Maya’s-body switch places during the second investigation period. Mia then proceeds to exorcise Dahlia out of Maya’s body with Phoenix’s help:

Dahlia: …Grr…Mmm…Nnnn… Grrr… Ahh! M… M… Mia F… F… Fey Mia Fey! Mia Fey! MIA FEEEEY! You… You… spinster!! I was supposed to kill Maya Fey like I swore I would! And if only you had gotten this spiky-haired jerk the guilty verdict… …I wouldn’t have been hanged to death!

Mia: …… True.

Dahlia: …!

Mia: But I think you finally understand, Dahlia Hawthorne. …You will never defeat me.

Dahlia: Wh-What…!? What did you say!?

Mia: Whether you’re alive, dead, or somewhere in between, you will never defeat me. As long as I’m around, you’re destined to lose for all of eternity!

Dahlia: Grrr… Grrrr… Grrrrr…

Phoenix: …I remember what you said earlier in the trial. You said there was no way we could punish you… …because you were already dead.

Dahlia: What about it!?

Phoenix: Then you said… “Even when the body dies, the spirit, the ego, it lives on… forever.”

Mia: …That’s very true, Dahlia. And that’s exactly the punishment you’ll never be able to escape from.

Dahlia: …!

Mia: For all of eternity, you’ll have to remain as Dahlia Hawthorne. A miserable, pathetic, weak creature who can never win at anything… And for you, there is no escape from that. No hope of freedom. Since the day you were executed… …the narrow bridge that once stretched out in front of you has burnt to a crisp!

This causes Dahlia to freak out and pop out of Maya’s body with a extremely loud scream. It’s extremely chilling and awesome at the same time. 

One thing that stands out though, is that defeating Dahlia never stops being Mia’s personal victory as Godot mentions later on.

Godot: The woman who had spiked my scalding hot coffee… Dahlia Hawthorne! Ha…! Good ol’ Mia. She didn’t let me down. She got her revenge before she checked out. In the end… There wasn’t anyone waiting for me when I woke up.

In a way, the way that Mia Fey and Diego Armando go about taking revenge against Dahlia serves an interesting contrast to each other. Mia, although angry at Dahlia for sure, never let her anger consume her when trying to take her revenge on Dahlia. The only thing that Mia sought out to do was to make sure that she received justice for her crimes and upon finally getting Dahlia convicted of murder, moved on with her life. Mia even took Phoenix under her wing, despite his past connection to Dahlia. Even though he really had nothing to do with her crimes and even was supposed to be one of her victims, you can’t help but admire her for that.

On the other hand, Diego Armando never let his hatred of Dahlia Hawthorne go. Even after waking up from his coma and realizing that Mia had gotten revenge for him and got her sentenced to death. He was so blinded by hatred that upon encountering her at the Inner Temple Garden, he stabbed her with the cane sword, killing Misty Fey in the process. And unlike Mia, Diego hated Phoenix and even blamed him for Mia’s death. There’s also a line that suggests that he knew that Phoenix was the one that inadvertently helped Dahlia hide the bottle necklace containing the poison:

Godot: …… I never liked you. Six years ago… …you helped the woman who put me to sleep by hiding her bottle of poison. 

It’s an interesting line, indeed, and implies that Diego’s hatred of Phoenix went beyond Mia’s murder. Because Phoenix “hid” the bottle of poison, Dahlia was never able to be caught for Diego’s poisoning and thus escaped justice. In summary, Mia was able to move on with her life after Dahlia got caught while Diego wasn’t which ended up being his downfall.

I can also see how some people might make a case for Maya going through development of her own throughout Trials and Tribulations. During the second and third case, we see her express doubts about her own abilities as a spirit medium and it’s implied that she’s still shaken up by the murder in Kurain Village to the point that she hasn’t even returned to the village in a while:

Maya: Well, I’m kind of taking a break… I’m having a bit of trouble right now, you know?

Phoenix: (Last year’s incident must still be on her mind… I haven’t seen Maya train at all since then. I think Mia said it’s because Maya’s “at a loss these days”…)

It’s an interesting line, and is definitely one that people seem to overlook while playing through the game. Despite her lack of training however, Maya is still able to channel Mia during the last portion of the Stolen Turnabout. The conversation the two of them have reveals that Maya is going through a dilemma currently.

Mia: I’m just joking, Phoenix. Don’t take everything so seriously. But on the other hand, Maya… She seems kind of lost these days.

Phoenix: You mean about becoming the Master of the Kurain Channeling School?

Mia: Becoming the Master… means saying goodbye to our mother.

Phoenix: You mean Misty Fey…?

Mia: …Watch over her, will you Phoenix?

One thing I find interesting though, is that Maya’s dilemma about becoming the Master isn’t overly prevalent in dialogue. Sure it’s a part of what she goes through over the course of the game but it doesn’t take a huge focus. It’s certainly unique. Here’s one such example in Recipe for Turnabout 

Armstrong: You ‘ave la perfect face for a waitress, you know.

Maya: Um, thanks. I guess if things don’t work out someday, then maybe I’ll be back.

Phoenix: (What things? Is she talking about her being a spirit medium…?)

I honestly appreciate it for it’s subtlety; little character moments like this one, is what adds to the replay value of the games. True, you can just breeze through them, but taking the time to present random things to people can also reveal tons of interesting dialogue that can reveal more about the characters than if you were to do a regular playthrough and do what you need to do to progress further through the case.

All of this culminates in the last case when Maya goes to Hazakura Temple with Pearl and Phoenix to do some training which as mentioned before, she hasn’t really done much of since the Kurain Channeling incident. And unfortunately for her, it ends in disaster with her nearly being murdered by the ghost of her cousin, Dahlia and also witnessing Godot stab the spirit to death which kills her mother in the process.

When we first see Maya in the last trial portion of Bridge to the Turnabout, she’s more traumatized than we’ve ever seen her. And through this line, we get to see how she feels about the Kurain Channeling Technique in her current situation:

Maya: … I… I’m frightened. The Fey clan… I don’t want any more to do with it.

Now, let’s think about what this line means. Maya has dealt with a horrible amount of tragedy in her young life due to her heritage. She lost her mother, her sister left the village partly because she didn’t want to feud with Maya over the title of Master; her aunt plotted to have her convicted for murder and later tried to murder her through her beloved cousin, Pearl; and the one time that she decides to start training again, another tragedy occurs. Her mother was killed right in front of her by a man who was blinded by hatred towards the spirit possessing her body. It’s hard not to see why Maya would not want anything to do with her heritage after all the grief it caused her, so then, why does Maya decide to inherit the title of Master anyway?

Well, here’s the deal: The Fey Clan is extremely screwed up and has caused many of its members grief over the past two years. It’s no secret that the branch family has plotted against the main family before and has done so throughout its history:

Bikini: There is only one heir to the title of “Master” at any time, and it’s usually the eldest. That child becomes the new Master of Kurain, and her daughters, the main family. All other mediums become branch family members, with no hope of controlling the clan. That’s why nothing has changed throughout the history of the clan… Branch families always have and always will plot to erase those of the main family line.

However, Pearl doesn’t hold any sort of resentment towards Maya despite her being the heir to the title of Master. In fact, Pearl adores Maya and vice versa. The only reason she ever went with Morgan’s plan was because she thought by “It’s for the good of the Fey Clan” that her mother meant that her plan would benefit Maya and Pearl both. Maya similarly doesn’t hold any resentment towards Pearl  when she tries to blame herself for the death of Maya’s mother.

If you think about it, the fact that Maya stays and decides to become Master could also considered to be not only a result of her strength but a result of her deciding to fix the screwed up legacy of the Fey clan. As two of the people hurt most by the rivalry between the main family and the branch family, Maya and Pearl could work together to fix their family’s screwed up background and restore the Fey clan to its former glory. That’s the way I see it anyway.

Sorry for my long rant there, the Fey clan is very interesting to me. Honestly though, I’d argue that Edgeworth is more like a tritagonist. He’s extremely important at first but he becomes relatively less important over the course of the trilogy to the point that he’s only ever in one case in his present day form in the last part.

Maya is more or less the deutragonist of the games. She’s in 10 of the 14 cases in the trilogy and 6 of those cases (1-2, 1-4, 2-2, 2-4, 3-2, and 3-5) have her involved majorly in the plot whether it be her being accused of murder, dealing with her and her family history, or kidnapped (in which we get to control her too!). While she isn’t involved in the plots of 1-3 or 2-3 directly, she is the person who convinces Phoenix to take both cases and she even helps Phoenix out in the latter by raising the question of where Max’s bust is located which helps him catch Acro as the true murderer.

However, despite Maya’s overall importance to the trilogy, what stops her from being the main protagonist like Phoenix is that we don’t get to go into her head very often. We see Phoenix react to the situations around him, we get to see his thoughts while dealing with crazy witnesses and when he’s having a difficult time trying to prove something in court. Through this, we get to know Phoenix and in a sense, feel like we can connect with him. Even Edgeworth gets to be played during the first investigation and trial day of Bridge to the Turnabout where like Phoenix, we get to go inside his head and see how he thinks and how he feels about what’s going on around him.

With Maya, the time that we do get to control her in 2-4 is extremely short and doesn’t exactly allow us to get into her head. That’s not a point against her however as we do see her react to what’s going on when we aren’t in control of her. It makes sense that it would be extremely short though, as Maya is currently kidnapped when we do control her and the areas you can have her go aren’t very numerous. 

Still as much as I argue that Phoenix fits the central character and protagonist mold more than Edgeworth and Maya do, I believe that all three characters are important in their own unique ways.

[hope-for-olicity]

Hope for the Holidays 2/?

Happy Holidays Everyone! I’d like to dedicate this story to all those who have taken the time to read my stories - I’m so grateful!  I hope you enjoy this AU where Felicity and Oliver meet over the holidays when they find love right next door. Thanks so much to @mel-loves-all​​ for the lovely edit. Also available on AO3.

2. O Christmas Tree

Felicity was finishing up her meeting with Thea, she could not stop her eyes from straying to the door again. She hoped Thea hadn’t noticed, she really thought Oliver would stop by.

“That’s about it. I think we can schedule our next meeting for the New Year. You are coming to the Queen Consolidated Holiday Party, right?” Thea began gathering her computer and coffee cup from the conference table.

“Sorry, Thea. Must have spaced out for a moment. What did you say?” Felicity noticed a twinkle in Thea’s eye almost as if she knew Felicity was thinking about her brother.

“I was just asking if you were coming to our holiday party?” Thea smiled.

“Of course! Caitlin and I are both coming, she will be bringing her husband, Ronnie.” Felicity smiled.

“What about you? You know you can bring a date.” Thea gave her another knowing smile, Felicity was getting a little weirded out by it.

“I know, I’m good on my own. I’d better head back. It was nice to see you, Thea.” Felicity heading out of the Queen Consolidated building surrounded by a little cloud of disappointment. She’d only met him LAST NIGHT but suddenly she needed to see Oliver. Felicity gave herself a little shake as she walked out the revolving door. Talk about too much, too soon, she needed to chill but it wasn’t every night that her own personal hero came to save her…

~~~~~

Oliver was been trapped in a meeting from hell. His father wanted a full update on what was happening in their London offices. It wasn’t that bad a meeting, Oliver knew it only felt that way because he was distracted. He didn’t want to miss Felicity coming to Queen Consolidated. 

The moment his father got a call he needed to take Oliver was out the door. He rushed to Thea’s office only to find it empty. He stopped at her assistant’s desk, trying to appear patience as he waited for her to get off the phone. He continued to bounce on the balls of his feet.

“Mr. Queen,” she acknowledged him as she hung up the phone. “Your sister is in a meeting in the boardroom. Did you need her now or would you like me to book you an appointment?”

“No need for an appointment, I’ll find her.” Oliver rushed to the boardroom hoping he was about to see Felicity Smoak.

As he approached he saw Thea meeting with an older man, definitely not Felicity. He felt a crushing disappointment. Thea saw him through the glass windows and motioned for him to come in. 

Oliver nodded, entered the boardroom.

“Mr. Kord this is Oliver Queen, my brother. He’s just rejoining our team here in Star City after working in our London offices for the past few years.”

Oliver leaned forward to shake Mr. Kord’s hand.

“Oliver, Mr. Kord runs Kord Industries as I’m sure you remember.” Thea nodded to Mr. Kord. “We are actually working together for the first time thanks to Smoak Technologies. Their CEO Felicity Smoak has created a biostimulant, it’s her patent but she wants to mass-produce it so the average person can afford to walk like she can, that’s what Queen Consolidated and Kord Industries are supporting.”

“Did you just imply that Felicity Smoak uses the biostimulant to walk?” Oliver was too shocked to hide it.

“Yes, she was in a car accident about two years ago, was paralyzed. She worked night and day to create this biostimulant, then convinced her best friend Dr. Caitlin Snow to do the implant. The two work together at Smoak Tech, while they have other projects the biostimulant is their main focus.”

“Wow. I mean, wow...I had no idea. Yes, I knew about the biostimulant but I didn’t know there was a working one inside her, I mean inside her back. I’m even more impressed than I was last night…” Oliver was truly in awe of Felicity Smoak.

“Last night?” Thea gave him a look.

“If you will excuse me, I have a meeting across town in an hour,” Mr. Kord stood. “Ms. Queen, I’m sure Ms. Smoak will be pleased with our progress.” Mr. Kord turned to Oliver. “Nice to see you again.”

As soon as Mr. Kord was out of the room. “Last night, Oliver? Do tell???”

“Come on, Thea, there is nothing to tell. She lives across the hall from me, but I’m sure you already knew that...in fact, I think maybe you planned it.” Oliver tried to give Thea his most intimidating look. It worked on everyone but Thea. 

He stared for another moment. When she didn’t cave he decided to cut his losses to find out what he really wanted to know. “Where is Felicity?”

“It’s Felicity, now…no Ms. Smoak?” Thea teased.

“Of course, it’s Ms. Smoak!” Oliver began to feel defensive. “It’s just when she introduced herself last night it was Felicity, so…” Oliver trailed off, knowing he couldn’t win this one.

Thea began to laugh, “I’m sorry, Oliver. I’ll stop teasing. Felicity was already here and gone today. You missed her but if you want I can invite you to our next meeting.”

“Please do.” Oliver nodded, he began walking toward the door.

“About tonight,” Thea began.

“Pizza?” Oliver smiled knowing his sister’s love for junk food.

“Yes, but I was also going to say I didn’t have to decorate your place so if you could pick up a tree, I’ll bring some ornaments. We’ll have a tree trimming party. You have to admit the place needs to be Christmatized?”

“Christmatized?” Oliver laughed. “Okay, I’ll get a tree on the way home.”

~~~~~

Felicity wasn’t taking any chances tonight, she picked up Big Belly Burger on her way home. Tonight she was having a real meal, instead of her usual popcorn and wine. Maybe she was growing as a person?

It was another long day, Caitlin brought them both extra large coffees as promised this morning. She was so jittery, she was worried that Thea was going to say something. Coffee didn’t usually affect her so much. It had to be the coffee, it certainly wasn’t anything else, Oliver hadn’t even shown up. 

“Grrr.” Why was she holding on to this ALL DAY? 

Caitlin tried extra hard to get her to spill and get over her grumpy but to no avail. Felicity closed herself off in her office running code, trying her damndest to match it to DNA outside her own. What good was this biostimulant if only worked for her? Not that she wasn’t grateful to be walking be everyone else should have that option too!

The day was done now, she was going home, putting her feet up as soon as the elevator arrived. She watched the numbers tick up from the parking garages to open at the lobby for her. As the elevator doors opened, she was shocked by the sight in front of her.

A Christmas tree. Just a tree. It appeared to be on its own. It was the holiday season but generally, trees had owners. Should she get in?

A muffled voice called out, “Can’t hit the open button! If someone is there, maybe I’m talking to no one. The doors are closing soon.”

“Oh!” Felicity exclaimed. There was someone there. “I’m getting in.” She got in the elevator next to the HUGE tree.

She leaned forward to press her floor number and noticed it was already lit. This could only mean one thing. “Oliver, did you get eaten by a Christmas tree?” She began to giggle like a schoolgirl.

“Haha” came the muffled voice behind the tree. “It didn’t look this big on the lot.”

“It’s impressive.” Felicity looked the tree up and down. “I’m kind of impressed you got it in here all by yourself.” She wished she could see Oliver’s reaction to her compliment but he was trapped behind a huge tree. “Sorry, I missed you at Queen’s Consolidated today.” There was something about not being about to see his face that made her bold.

“Felicity Smoak. Nice to see you again...well sort of...I” The muffled voice was cut off by the ding of the elevator as they reached their floor.

“How about I help you get this tree out? Let me go first, I’ll put my bags down in the hall then we can both manoeuvre the tree to your place. Sound like a plan?”

Felicity was pretty sure she heard a “Much appreciated,” come from behind the tree. 

“Felicity, I’m going to push the tree forward, so you get the top the lighter end, I’ll carry the heavy end. Sound good?”

“Alright, give it to me.” Give it to me? Felicity knew she was blushing and he couldn’t even see her. 

Oliver chuckled. “Okay, I’m going to slowly push the tree forwards now so the top comes out of the elevator first. Let me know if it’s a problem. Remember the worst thing that can happen is we drop the tree.”

“Okay, I’m ready,” Felicity called out.

The tree began to fall forward, Felicity was there to catch it. “Alright, got it. I’ll start walking toward your door.”

She began walking as Oliver slowly came into his view his black pea coat covered in pine needles. “I think you got some tree on you.” For some reason this struck her as hilarious. He looked adorably rumbled and covered in Christmas tree. 

“Fel-ic-ity,” Oliver sounded annoyed but she could tell by the smile on his face he was faking. “Don’t drop the tree.” He tried to sound stern but her laughter was contagious.  “You think that’s funny? We are going to have to swing around in a circle. I need to get to my door with the key.” Oliver just shook his head.

“Rocking around the Christmas tree,” Felicity began to sing, badly, as the tree around in the space between their two condos. 

“Oh my, what did I do to deserve you?” Oliver shook his head as he unlocked the door. Once he got the door opened, he turned back to Felicity. “Ready to bring it in?”

She nodded. Stifling a laugh when she looked at Oliver. He might even have pine needles in his hair.

The got the tree inside and propped against the wall. “There,” Felicity looked at the tree. “Well done us.” 

“Yes, what a feat. Can I offer you something to drink? Thanks so much for helping.”

“No problem. After you were my hero last night, it was the least I could do. But I should be heading home, my supper is in a bag in the hallway.” Felicity began walking toward the door. 

“I understand. But if you’d like to come by later Thea and I will be decorating the tree. We could always use the help.” 

Oliver gave her a broad smile that made her knees a little weak. For a moment she wasn’t sure what to say so she decided to go with the truth. “I’ve actually never decorated a tree before.”

Oliver looked incredibly sad. Like someone kicked his puppy.

“Oh no!” Felicity needed to stop his thought process, STAT. “Don’t feel bad for me, it’s not like that at all. It’s just, I’m Jewish so we didn’t have a tree. My friends had trees and I see them everywhere they are quite lovely we just didn’t have one. I know I could if I wanted, I just haven’t...well,” Felicity took a deep breath she knew she was babbling. “I mean…”

“Felicity, I would love it if you helped Thea and I decorate my tree. How about you go home, have dinner and I’ll come get you when Thea gets here with the decorations? No pressure. If you change your mind...just don’t answer the door.” 

Oliver looked at her with such hope, she really wanted too, “YES!”

~~~~~

Thea arrived a short while later weighed down with decorations. Oliver opened the door, retrieving boxes from his overloaded sister.  “I ordered pizza on my way, it should be here soon.”

“Wow, Thea. I can’t believe you were able to carry on this stuff.” Oliver was so impressed with his little sister.

“I may be small but I am mighty.” Thea flexed her very real arm muscles. “All those weights at the gym payoff!”

“They do.” Oliver smiled. “I have something to tell you and I hope you will be okay with it.”

“Felicity is coming to decorate?” Thea smiled sweetly.

“How did you know?” Oliver was honestly bewildered. “I just invited her.”

“Oliver, Felicity texted to make sure it was okay. She didn’t want to crash family time. She and I are friends remember?”

“Friends? I knew you worked together. Didn’t realize you texted.”

“Is that a problem?” Thea gave him a pointed look.

“No, of course not.” Oliver shook his head. Thea was friends with his crush, no problem AT. ALL. “So you knew she lived across the hall?”

“Yes, but I swear this wasn’t a setup thing. Felicity is amazing but she’s like you - sworn off dating. It can’t hurt to have a good neighbour, right?”

“Right.” Oliver didn’t believe his sister for a minute. “On that note, I’m going to get Felicity.”

Oliver walked across the hall, took a deep breath to calm himself before knocking on Felicity’s door. 

Felicity opened her door wearing a bright red holiday sweater that read - Gloves Actually.

“Wow.” Oliver was amazed. It wasn’t just the sweater, she looked beautiful.

“Are you mocking?” Felicity’s eyebrow rose. “I wasn’t sure what to wear. I bought this ugly sweater for a party and thought it was festive.”

Oliver continued to stare. This woman was amazing.

“It’s too much? I can change,” Felicity turned to walk back inside.

“NO, IT’S PERFECT. You’re perfect.” Oliver’s face reddened, he could feel it.

“Thank you.” Felicity smiled.

Felicity’s smile made all the embarrassment worth it. “Let’s go decorate the tree. Thea’s waiting for us.”

Thea met them at the door like an eager child “Let the Christmas tree trimming begin!” 

Thanks so much for reading! More to come soon!!

I’m tagging people who might be interested. Let me know if you’d like to be tagged or untagged: @memcjo​ @stephswims​ @julieofrandomfandoms​ @mel-loves-all​ @cruzrogue​ @laurabelle2930​ @lucyyh​ @green-arrows-of-karamel​ @oliverfel4​ @tdgal1​ @tangled23works​ @lageniuswannabe​ @swordandarrow​ @it-was-a-red-heeler​ @olicitytropes​

[four-loose-screws]

FE5 Umemura Novel Translation - Chapter 10 Part 4

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

Pre-3DS FE Translations - FE Awakening Translations - FE Fates Translations - Original FE Support Conversations - Ko-fi

Leif’s army left Danzhi and started marching towards Manster. About a day later, they came across a large river.

It was The Great River of Thracia, the largest river of the Thracian Peninsula.

This grand river was not only important geographically, but also historically. It had been the battleground for many critical battles.

About ten years ago, the river had been the stage for the battle between Northern Thracia and The Kingdom of Thracia; where Leif’s grandfather, the previous king of Leonster, had lost his life due to Conote’s betrayal. Because of that, Leonster lost the power needed to oppose the Thracian army, and was soon conquered.

Since it had happened right after he was born, he had only heard about it through stories. Still, the sight of the river filled him with regret.

He balled his hands tightly into fists.

“This river has been filled with blood and tears. Even now, it’s full of things we cannot change.” August muttered.

“Yeah, it is.” Leif nodded slightly, then looked away from the water’s surface.

They followed the riverbank a little south, and saw a huge stone bridge. The imperial army had it surrounded, and looked ready to fight.

On the other side of the bridge, Leif could see a fort. “Once we pass through here, we’ll reach Manster soon after! Move out, everyone!” He yelled and unsheathed his sword.

Partway through everyone’s battle cry, August looked at the fort and shivered.

“What’s wrong, August?” Leif furrowed his brow and looked at August.

“Can you see that red-haired person?” August pointed a shaky finger in the direction of the fort.

Everyone looked at where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was a red-haired young man near the fort.

“Ah!” Mareeta gasped.

Leif whirled around. “What’s wrong, Mareeta?”

“N-Nothing. I’m sorry.” She said with furrowed brows, but also a smile

“He is Saias, a bishop of the Bragi Church. However, he is a prodigy in tactics first and foremost, and should be feared. So long as he is here, this is going to be a difficult battle.” August said while grinding his teeth over and over again.

Leif nodded. “I understand. Let’s proceed with caution.”

*

At the same time that the sight of Saias surprised August, Olwen was very surprised by the sight of one of the enemy units.

“What’s wrong, Lady Olwen?” Fred asked, puzzled.

“Fred, look over there!” Her eyes didn’t move from where she was staring as she answered and pointed at the mage knight unit positioned near the fort.

He looked at where she was pointing. “That’s the Gelben Ritter, isn’t it? …Oh, and that’s…!” Fred realized why she was pointing near the fort, and responded in a shocked voice.

The Gelben Ritter were the honored imperial guards of Conote’s House Freige, made up entirely of mage knights. The members they could see were the best of the best.

And in the back of the group was their leader, Reinhardt... Olwen’s older brother.

“What’s Brother doing in a place like this?” She stared at him and furrowed her eyebrows.

*

“First, we’ll get across the bridge. No matter how great a tactician Saias is, there’s no way he can be giving out orders to a unit on the other side of the riverbank. Move out, everyone!” Leif raised his sword over his head once more, then started marching towards the stone bridge.

Positioned on the front line was a unit of soldiers.

Leif and the swordfighters charged at them.

The soldiers themselves weren’t that strong, however, they were gathered together in a tight formation with no openings, giving Leif and the others a much more difficult fight than they had expected.

“There’s no way Saias is giving them orders too!” Leif dodged a lance and glared at the opposing riverbank. He realized just how difficult this battle would become.

They defeated the soldiers, reached the bridge, and turned towards a cavalier unit, who were nearing the bridge one by one.

They also noticed several ballistae positioned around the riverbank.

The arrows probably wouldn’t reach their current location, but it would be too dangerous for Dean, Karin, and Eda to fly.

Leif ground his teeth together while crossing the bridge and glaring at the cavaliers.

The land around them was a field that was almost entirely flat, the most advantageous kind of terrain for cavaliers to fight on. If his army could intercept them on top of the bridge, they could possibly limit their movements, but there was little chance that would be good enough.

“Spread out left and right! Block them!”

Everyone followed his orders and spread out in a wide formation.

So long as the cavaliers couldn’t pass them, they should be able to face them head on.

The enemy cavaliers broke down in to equally-sized small groups and pressed forward one-by-one. Just when Leif’s army thought they had defeated one group, the next attacked them.

Demoralized by the cavalier’s movements, their formation gradually started to crumble.

Yet there were still a lot of cavaliers left to fight.

“Grrr… Don’t let them break our formation! Keep pushing forward! Leif yelled. He jumped and stabbed his sword into the chest of an oncoming cavalier. He pulled out his sword and was shot in the shoulder with an arrow.

He groaned and fell on his back.

“Lord Leif!” Nanna rushed over to him.

“I’m fine! Stand down!” He pulled the arrow out and stood up. Blood trickled down his arm.

The cavalier that had shot the arrow readied his next attack.

Leif ran straight at the enemy with his arms crossed in front of him, forming a makeshift shield.

The cavalier shot his arrow.

It pierced through Leif’s arm, grazed his side, and ripped open his thigh. Yet he didn’t stop, and continued running. He jumped and swung his sword.

The cavalier fell to a crouch.

He heard hooves galloping closer, and raised his head to see a lance cavalier coming at him. Using his sword as a crutch, he forced himself up.

The lance cavalier was getting closer and closer to him.

He swung his sword upwards.

The cavalier didn’t stop, instead galloping right past him.

“Gah!” He turned around and tried to follow after the cavalier, but his knees gave out and he fell forwards.

The cavalier rushed straight towards his army.

*

The lance cavalier weaved through Leif’s army’s battle formation, and raised his lance over his head.

He aimed it at Sara.

Her entire body stiffened up.

“Look out, Lady Sara!” Salem rushed at her and pushed her away.

The lance pierced through his chest. It stuck out from his back, now dyed red.

“Ah… Ahh…” Sara’s lips trembled. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

Salem grabbed the lance with his left hand and tried to pull it out.

The cavalier started to panic.

Salem smirked and raised his right hand. Dark magic shot out from his palm.

The darkness covered the cavalier, and he screamed in agony and died.

Now that his body no longer had any support, Salem fell backwards on the ground.

Sara rushed over to him.

“Are you safe… Lady Sara?” Though blood was flowing out of his mouth, he was smiling.

She stared at him, expressionless. “Why did you save me? For my grandfather’s sake?”

“He has… nothing to do with it… I’m… not… a Loptyrian priest… anymore…”

“Then why?” She asked.

He tilted his head slightly. “I… wonder… Think… about it… a bit…” He made a disappointed face, and stopped moving.

Though her expression had not changed, tears poured down her cheeks.

*

Nanna helped Leif up, then removed the arrow from his arm and healed him.

“Thank you, Nanna.” Leif started to walk, but was a bit unsteady.

“Please don’t push yourself, Lord Leif!”

“I’m fine, thanks to your healing spell!” He smiled at her, then dashed off.

The stone bridge was right in front of him, and only a few cavaliers were left.

“Keep moving forward, everyone! Let’s get across the bridge before the next unit attacks!” Leif yelled through ragged breaths.

Everyone followed after him, nearing the bridge while routing the enemy cavaliers.

On the other side of the river, they could see nearly twenty knights and two ballistae waiting for them.

Leif held up his hand, motioning for everyone to stop in front of the bridge.

The enemies didn’t look like they were going to move.

He started thinking to himself while staring at them. ‘The knights won’t be a problem, but the ballistae… There’d be nowhere for us to run if they shot at us while we were crossing the bridge. What should we do?’

“Lord Leif!”

He suddenly heard a voice. It was Olwen’s.

“Please consider leaving the ballistae to me!” She said while staring straight ahead.

“Will you be okay?”

“With my horse’s speed and my thunder magic, I can take care of them in no time!”

“Well…” He thought her plan through while looking at the ballistae once again.

“I’m off, Sir!”

“Huh? Hey, wait!”

She dashed off without waiting for his answer. Her horse galloped across the bridge and straight towards the enemies.

Upon noticing her movements, they brandished their weapons and readied the ballistae.

She reached them before they could shoot the ballistae arrows.

Her horse jumped high in the air, over the knights’ heads.

She unleashed an attack from midair.

Her thunderbolts hit the ballistae’s strings dead on. Thy burned away and the giant arrows fell to the ground with a thud.

“She did it! Way to go Olwen!” Leif cheered.

However, she didn’t come back, instead continuing forward at full speed, towards where the elite mage knight unit was positioned.

“Wait! Olwen, stop!”

But it seemed she hadn’t heard him, as she didn’t stop.

“Move out everyone! Let’s hurry across the bridge!” Leif ordered, though he was troubled by Olwen’s sudden reckless behavior.

The moment his army started to cross, the knights on the other side all started to march at once. They walked slowly, and their armor clanked as they walked along the bridge.

The two groups met in the middle.

While the short width of the bridge and the knights’ tough armor gave them trouble, they weren’t very difficult enemies for Leif’s army at their current strength.

They slowly pushed the knights back.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Saias raise his hands over his head.

It seemed to be a signal, as the knights wielding bows, who were on both the right and left sides of the unit, all shot flaming arrows down at the bridge.

The next moment, a low, heavy sound echoed through the air, and the bridge started to shake.

The knights all retreated to the end of the bridge.

Once Leif realized what was going on, he ground his teeth together. “Run as fast as you can! Force your way through the knights, and get across!” He yelled while running.

Cracks started forming beneath their feet. He heard a noise, and the bridge began to fall from the edges inward.

The knight unit faced Leif’s army head-on and reacted to their moving forward. They hardened their defenses and kept Leif’s army from progressing.

At this rate, there was no way that Leif’s army would be able to get across before the bridge completely collapsed.

Leif swung his sword around as hard as he could and bit his lip.

Dean, Eda, and Karin’s mounts all flew down to his side.

Chances were, their enemies hadn’t expected to be attacked from left, right, and above; which would allow them to attack from the three directions and break the knights’ formation all at once.

They rushed through the knights, scattering their formation, and made it across the bridge.

Now, all Leif had to do was get his allies on the rear line across. It would be a close call, but they should be able to make it.

He returned to the bridge. One by one, the remainder of his army crossed it.

However, Sara had stopped in the middle of the bridge, and was looking back.

She was staring at where Salem’s body lay.

Linoan, who had been running just ahead of her, noticed her and ran up to her. “Sara! We must move forward right now! If you stop here, Salem’s death will be for nothing!”

Sara nodded, still expressionless. She started to run.

Linoan tried to follow after her, but the moment she stepped forward, the bridge shook violently. Another huge crack split through it.

“Eeeeek!” Her foot got stuck in the crack.

“Linoan!” Sara stopped and turned around.

Linoan shook her head while standing up. “I’ll be fine, so go on ahead!”

Sara nodded and ran off, but kept looking back at Linoan.

Linoan stood back up and started running again.

Sara made it across.

Now Linoan was the only one left, and she was almost there.

Another huge crack ran through the bridge, and it made an even louder sound than the others had.

The bridge collapsed.

“Ahhhh!” She tumbled backwards and fell along with the bridge.

“Linoan!” Leif extended a hand towards her.

However, it didn’t reach her, and all he caught was air.

She fell further and further towards the river.

Then, Leif felt a gust of air blow past him.

It was Dean. His dragon flew up into the sky, then came straight down. “Lady Linoan!” His dragon flew past the falling rubble.

She reached for him.

Mere inches above the water, she grabbed his hand.

The dragon changed direction and began to arch back up into the air.

Dean leaned over to shield her.

The rubble fell into the water, causing splashes the size of pillars to rise up from the river.

Dean’s dragon weaved through the splashes and returned to Leif and the others.

He had been hit by both the water and the rubble, leaving him soaked and bleeding, but only the bottom of Linoan’s dress was wet, and she was unharmed.

“Thank you, Dean.” She said while dismounting the dragon. She seemed to be embarrassed, as her cheeks were a bit red.

“Don’t mention it.” He answered quietly, then looked at Sara. “We’ll give Salem a proper burial when the battle is over, so don’t worry about his body for now.”

“Okay.” She answered with her face down.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Leif nodded slowly and looked around at everyone. “We have just a little further to go! Let’s hurry and take the fort!”

*

After destroying the ballistae, Olwen didn’t stop, and continued onwards.

All she could see was the Gelben Ritter… no, her brother, Reinhardt.

She galloped straight towards the Gelben Ritter.

They were so surprised to see a single enemy come at them that their reaction was a bit late.

Leaving some space between her and the group, she stopped.

Her eyes met Reinhardt’s.

His eyebrows twitched a little.

The cavaliers readied their weapons and tidied up their formation.

“Wait!” Reinhardt held back the cavaliers and moved forward by himself.

“What are you doing in a place like this, Brother!? Wasn’t it your duty to serve Lady Ishtar?”

“This is also my duty. But don’t change the subject. It appears the rumors that you defected to the rebel army are true. How despicable!”

“What’s so despicable about it!? It’s the empire’s actions that are despicable!”

“It seems that the rebels have completely changed you. Have you forgotten your vows to chivalry!?” He glared at her.

“If it’s a code that tells me to serve my masters even when they are wrong, then I don’t need it!” She spat out and glared back at him.

He narrowed his eyes and smirked slightly. “Though you may have broken your vows, you seem to be following your own beliefs.” He said, then removed one of the swords from his waist and tossed it at her.

She stared at it in shock. It was his favorite sword.

“This sword belongs to one who tries to walk their own path.”

“Brother…” She put both hands around the sword, and looked at him.

Suddenly, his expression became grim. He unsheathed a sword. “Don’t misunderstand me! This doesn’t mean I approve of your actions! I fight all those who oppose me! Will you stay loyal to your beliefs, even if they mean you must defeat me!?”

Olwen furrowed her brow, sighed, and attached the sword to her waist. “Of course!” She unsheathed it and stared at him.

Their horses started running at the same time.

Their swords clashed.

They put all their power into pushing against each other.

Their swords screeched, then snapped back.

They stepped away from each other.

The one to recover their horse first was Reinhardt.

Naturally, the power between her and her brother, the leader of the Gelben Ritter, was great.

Once she had finally recovered her horse, his sword was already coming at her.

Somehow, she managed to block his attack.

He didn’t stop moving, and swung at her again.

She did everything she could to block his second and third consecutive attacks.

He thrust his sword at her again, this time, it was aimed at her chest.

She stopped the tip of his sword with the blade of hers, but the force pushed her backwards. She grabbed her horse’s reigns to keep herself from falling off.

Her horse reacted to the pull on the reigns by standing up on her hind feet and neighing.

While somehow keeping herself from falling and maintaining her posture, Olwen began to chant quietly.

“It’s over!” Reinhardt swerved around the side of her bucking horse and brought his sword up.

…Just as she had planned.

She unleashed her spell. Since she had cast it from such a compromised position, it didn’t hit its target, but the effect was more than enough.

The surprise attack had broken Reinhardt and his horse’s form.

She kicked her horse’s side and pulled the reigns. With her front feet still in the air, her horse turned slightly sideways.

Using the force from the turn, with her body still crooked, Olwen swung her sword.

The blade hit Reinhard’s sword and sent it flying.

Olwen clung to her horse’s back, pulled the reigns, and finally fixed her posture.

Lastly, she pointed her sword at his throat. “I won!”

“It appears so.” He answered, defeated.

“If you understand, then please hurry up and retreat back to your unit.”

He furrowed his brows at her. “What are you doing? You should kill me without a second thought! Or are you going to show mercy because I am your brother!?”

“That has nothing to do with it! I just fight how I choose to!”

“You’re soft!”

“Perhaps. But that’s how I do things.” She stared straight at him and hissed.

He broke out in laughter. “You’ve changed. But not in a bad way.”

“Brother…”

Still smiling, he raised both of his hands. “Understood. I’ll retreat.” He said calmly. He turned his back to her, gave an order to his unit, turned north, and galloped off.

She watched him leave.

*

Olwen seemed to have defeated the cavaliers stationed next to the fort herself, as they were nowhere to be seen.

“Lady Olwen!” Fred rushed up to her.

Olwen whirled around as if she had been attacked from behind.

“Are you alright?” He asked, worried.

She nodded and smiled without saying a word to him.

They returned to Leif and the army.

“I’m sorry for rushing ahead, Lord Leif.” She bowed her head.

“It’s fine. What matters most is your safety.” He answered with a grin. It seemed like something had happened, but based on how the two of them had been acting, he decided that he shouldn’t pry.

“All that’s left is the unit guarding the fort! Let’s take them out in one fell swoop!” Leif ordered while looking at the people in front of the fort: Saias, an elderly baron, and a few cavaliers.

―

As they approached the fort, the cavaliers rushed at them.

‘We’ll be able to beat a group this small easily! No matter how great a tactician Saias is, it’s gonna be difficult for him to turn the tables this time! We have no reason to fear!’ Leif thought as the cavaliers readied themselves to take the attack.

Suddenly, someone ran past him.

It was Mareeta.

She paid no attention to the cavaliers and turned straight towards the fort.

Leif tried to follow her, but the oncoming cavaliers and blocked him from doing so.

*

“Y-You’re…”

Saias opened his eyes wide at Mareeta, who was coming towards him.

“What’s going on, Bishop?! Why are you in a place like this, working as a tactician of the empire?!” She pointed her sword at him and yelled.

It was Saias who had taken her out of Manster after the grey-haired swordsman had saved her. It was him who had healed her heart from the regret of losing herself to the Shadow Sword and attacking her mother.

Yet now, he had appeared before her as an enemy.

“Each person has their place, their own part to play. I am only staying true to mine, whether I be saving you or devoting myself to this battle.” He chuckled at himself.

Mareeta tightened her grip around her sword.

The muscular, elderly baron stepped between Saias and Mareeta. “Your place is not here, Saias.” He readied his lance and glared at Mareeta.

“Lord Cowen!” Saias furrowed his brow and looked at the baron.

“You yourself should know best where your place is. Hurry out of here, Saias.”

“But if I do that, Lord Cowen, then…”

Cowen frowned at his response. “No matter what we do, we will not be able to stop them here. Whether you are here or elsewhere, there is nothing you can do to change that. There’s no need for you to force yourself to stay here any longer.”

Saias stared at Cowen, speechless.

“Quit dawdling!”

Saias took a few steps backwards. “I-I’m sorry, Lord Cowen.” He said quietly, then ran off.

Cowen didn’t even look back once, instead readying his lance. “Come at me, miss!” He said with a small smile. In his eyes were nothing but the will to fight.

Mareeta readied her sword and swallowed.

*

After they defeated the last cavalier, Leif and the others started towards the fort.

In front of it, Mareeta was fighting the baron.

For some reason, Saias had disappeared.

Mareeta ducked a horizontal swing from the baron. His lance grazed her hair, but went over her head.

She stepped forward. In one fluid motion, she swung her sword at him five times.

The attacks broke his armor and he fell where he stood.

She crouched and pointed her sword at his nose, signaling that the difficult battle was finally over, and that Leif’s army had seized the fort at The Great River of Thracia.

―

Afterwards, they buried Salem, and spent the night resting at the fort.

They were very close to arriving at Manster Castle.

[blackypanther9]

Part 47 - Another timeline

 Warning ! Mentions of corpses, blood, and...just everything that is connected to horror.

Your POV...(Telling the story)

It was an accident, that I found such a timeline in existence. It was dark, cold and smelled like death and horror. As I awoke from my black out, I didn't know where I had landed.

I was scared.

I landed somewhere, because I had to think fast and escape an Apocalypse. It was like a Supernova. A whole timeline exploded, I saved as many as I could and I was the only one left alive there. I had to run and as I was on the run, the Supernova came closer and closer and then touched and burned my back. I had to think fast and used all of my left powers, to escape to another timeline. While I was traveling, I blacked out.

I stood up and rubbed my temples, groaning in agony as my back started to ache.

"What happened ? Where am I ?", I asked myself.

I forgot what had happened, before I landed there. Then I stood up and looked around. All I could see was burned trees in front of me and behind me were trees which were still alive. As I looked through the burned trees, I saw a huge house. Then I saw a village and then, the Bifrost. I immediately knew where I was. It was Asgard. It was the darkest Asgard I ever saw in my life. It looked so dead there. I was afraid that no one lived there anymore... I started walking to the village and palace. Slowly and alarmed I went there. I felt like someone was watching my every move. My hair on my neck was standing and a very strong cold shiver ran down my spine. I felt like pray.

Soon I stood in front of the first house of the village and saw a hanging corpse on the house. It was an Asgardian, but I didn't know who. I was totally creeped out. Then I went further into the village and everywhere, where you looked, was a hanging corpse and the closer you got to the palace, the worse it got. Organs laid out on the floor and body parts. Then the palace was decorated in everything of a body. I was so scared. I sucked it up and creeped inside the palace. I was in a hall and saw nothing but blood, organs, body parts and corpses.

"Hello ? Is somebody here ? Prince Loki ? Prince Thor ? King Odin ? Queen Frigga ?", I called softly.

There was at first no answer. I was creeping down the halls and to Loki's room. I was just on the door and then suddenly, I heard a old, scary clock bell.

(Chose your sound ! They belong to their rightful owners !!)

(Sound 1)

(Sound 2)

I flinched and just grabbed the doorknob, pulling it open and hiding inside the room. I didn't even realize that I wasn't alone and in great danger. I sank down to the floor and held my head.

"How did I get here ? Where is here ? What timeline is this ? Grrr ! So many questions with no answers !!", I cursed.

Then I slowly looked up and saw Loki on his bed. I stalked over and gasped in terror and shock. That Loki looked terrible ! He had no eyes, a part of his head and face was only a skull and the top of it was slightly cracked open, a part of his mouth was sewn shut, his torso saw better days and he looked like he was rotting away. His teeth, on the side, where just the skull was to see,  you saw that he had razor sharp ones, ready to tear you apart. His fingernails once were normal, but now they were claws. His clothes, skin, skeleton and room was covered in blood. I thought he was dead, but he wasn't ! As the bell stopped its sound, he awoke ! He was alive ! And he SAW me ! He looked at me with his empty eye sockets.

"What are you doing here ? Who are you ?", he growled.

"L-Loki ? I-Is tha-that y-you ?", I stuttered out.

"I am. Now who are you ?"

"You don't know me. I am Destiny. Destiny Andrea Dust. I am from another timeline, this one is new and...not my own."

Loki nodded in understanding.

"That is strange..."

"Say..."

His head snapped up and he crooked his head to the side. I gulped down my scream.

"What happened to everyone else ? Are they like you, or also dead ? Like Odin, Frigga, Thor, all the other Asgardians ?"

Loki shook his head.

"They are like me. And they shouldn't see you. They would kill and eat you in an instant."

I was mortified to say the least.

"And you ?"

"I am nothing, like them. I do not eat people."

I took a breath of relief. Then the door banged and Loki jumped up.

"Hide.", he said.

"What ?"

"I said hide ! Thor is here ! He must have seen you ! You need to hide and wait until I return !"

I ran and hid in Loki's secret room. Then the door opened.

"What do you want, Thor ?", Loki asked annoyed.

"Where is the food, Loki ?!"

"I have no food."

"A delicious living woman ran into your room !! Where is she ?!"

"I don't know of what you speak of.", Loki told him bored.

Out of story really short ! No one’s POV...

"Loki was right then and there my savior. Don't get me wrong ! We are still friends and I visit him sometimes, but he...is still my worst nightmare. And sometimes he can't even control his dark side. The side that got cursed with the rest of the whole universe.", you told them.

Loki stared at you pale and still proud, Laufey however was terrified for his life.

"What happened then ?", Loki asked.

"Well..."

Back to storytelling ! Your POV...

Thor pushed passed Loki and stormed inside his room.

"Hey ! Get out of my room ! I didn't grand you enterance !", Loki yelled angered.

"You are hiding something !"

"I am not ! I am reading you oaf !!", Loki yelled.

"About what ?"

"Magic ! Like always you idiot ! And now get the fuck out of my room !!"

Thor scoffed and looked at Loki. He pointed to his door.

"BE GONE THOR !!!!", Loki screeched inhumanly.

Thor flinched and went out of the room. Loki huffed and then opened the door of the secret room. I stepped out and looked at Loki in awe.

"Thank you, for saving me."

"It is fine. You are interesting. But we have to get you away from here. You need to return to your timeline."

"How ?"

"I will help you. How do you usually get back to your timeline ?"

"I use my powers. But the Supernova, I had to escape from, made me use all of my energy and now I can not return. It will also take a few weeks to heal my back. The Supernova hit me on the back, that's why I used my saved - up, little power to escape. That is how I landed here, while blacking out."

"Let me see your back, please."

I nodded and turned around, then I showed him my back, by dropping the illusion I put over my back. He took in a sharp breath.

"Well...healing isn't my biggest strength, but I will try and heal that. So we can mainly focus on how to get you to energy fastly, so you can go."

I nodded. Then he began...

Part 48

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !  

[a-rat-and-a-blob]

The Sewer King’s Carol - In Chains

               I slowly walk the dark quiet caverns of the sewers, hearing the sewage drip solemnly on the concrete from the rusty pipes. Its sound bounce off the tunnels' walls. Drip. Drip. Drip. As I made every step, I think about the bag Twitch stole. What he would do to it? What lie would I make up this time? Twitch was easy to trick, but he was one who can be affected by a lie so easily, taking it to such loud and troublesome extremes. I remember  when I lied about the superheroes I have being the surface greatest protectors. He saw this as a way to make these weird strategies of somehow finding ways to poison all of them and testing all of his weapons. He almost got smashed by a boulder before I had to tell him. In fact, all of this seems to be a lie. A lie that I will somehow never stop telling. First I was his homemade subject and now I am his spy that spies on the surface. My parents always told me that lying was wrong. Why can't it be so easy..

               As I walked deeper and deeper, the lights grow dim and the humidity began to hit. Contaminated water slush out from the pipes, masking any surrounding sound that could occur.  Something hit me in that very moment. A feeling of dread, death, and desperation as if everything went dark. Darker than usual. No one was there.. I follow my instincts trying to find its source, but it already seems like I already knew what it is. It is deeper in the sewers. Deeper where all of the pipes release their waste. I run and run, only hearing the water gush and gush as I could only imagine the cold skin and lifeless eyes. "Hello!? Anyone there!?" I shout on the top of my lungs.

               "O...Over here.." someone mutters meekly.

               I ran to his aid, only to see what had happen. Teens were strewn around the area, blood dripped everywhere. It seemed like only 3 people, but there could be people that he kicked into the waters, their bodies lost forever, giving their parents more to grieve over. I looked around. "Hello!? Where are yo-"

               I look down and I see a teen looking at me. He had brown hair and dark skin. He clutched his chest where I could see a gold arrow sticking out, the same contained in my chest. I bent down to heal his wounds, but he scrambled away.

               "Stay back!" he shouted at the massive creature with yellow eyes and an antenna . "Stay back! Get me out of here.. I'm tired of all of this monster crap! Tired of it!"

               I still stretch my arm slowly to approach, but as my hand grows closer and closer to his still beating hear, he throws a knife at me, aiming for my head but getting my shoulder instead. I barely flinched as he was still breathing.

               "Get away.. Get.. Away... You.. your buddy.. Monster buddy.. He killed my friends.. Stay.." he could barely speak. His eyes filled with tears.

               "Look.. I.. I don't who you're talking about.. A slimy guy like me wouldn't have that many friends. I just want you to be safe.. I'm sorry fo-"

               Swish!

               The arrow hit the person's head and he begins to utter his final breath. I look to the killer who stares at the body with contempt. "Goopy One! What are you doing here.." Twitch hisses.

               "What.. what were you doing!?" I shout.

               "They invaded the my domain! The surface dwellers get what they deserve," Twitch explained, approaching the body and began looting it. Overwhelmed with anger, I jumped on him. How dare he killed these people. They were just dumb. They didn't mean to invade or anything! Now he was stealing their stuff and throw them out like trash..

               Twitch quickly sidesteps and pointed the arrow at me. "How.. How dare you do that to your king!" Twitch shouts. "Grrr... Go back to the lair.. I command you! Or else... One move forward and I shoot."

               I slowly step back. Twitch's poison can get quite troublesome, and I know how fast he can fire. He seemed so far away... I walk further and further away. I can no longer see the boy's body nor Twitch's disrespectful looting. I couldn't even hear the splash after he kicks the body into the water.

               I stomp furiously to the tunnels, trying to make it to my lair. I grow angry at the very thought. The Goopy One!? Jumping on me!? I was justified in doing the deed.. He may like the surface dwellers, but I can see through their lies and tricks. I can see through their costumes and illusions. They want to exterminate us and steal from us! How long would it take for the Goopy One to notice that..? I know, or, at least, I hoped that the Goopy One wasn't on their side. It was just the fact that he's so dumb. His parents brainwashed him.. I know it! Even if they were nicer than most humans.. Then there goes the bag of metal pipes. The roaches tell me it wasn't for me, nor is it for the benefit of my kingdom. What could it possibly be...

               I arrive at the lair with the Goopy One sitting in front of the pipe with the tarp, visibly angered. I stare at him, trying to choose my words wisely. He was still a subject after all. One that helped me. It was just his obsession of our enemies that angered me. They killed his creators and they still have the gall to hunt him, and, in turn, me, down. A king must do something for his subjects. "I had to kill them.. Twitch couldn't take any chances.." I growl.

               "You didn't have to!" he shouts back. "They were just dumb teens. Dumb gang members trying to take a dare or something! And you killed them! You told me you would try to restrain from killing!"

               "And you told me you would be watching them, but they were close to my lair.. They would've seen us.. and you weren't there! Tell me.. what were you doing with that bag.." Twitch went to the other side of the tarp and brought out a bag of metal pipes and old toys. "What were you planning, Goopy One..? Tell me.. The roaches say that this wasn't for the kingdom."

               "You spied on me!?"

               "And it seemed like I had a good reason! What were you planning!? And don't lie. No more games! I could use this as rust. Twitch needed more rust."

               "Ok! Ok! Stop!" ZAC shout. "I was.. I was.. I was gonna make some toys for the people up there.."

               "Toys!? As in.. play-things!? And you were just going to give it to them?"

               "I.. Not exactly pal! I was just thinking of giving for the Snowdown season. I just want to lighten up their day."

               "And get caught.. or kidnapped! You can't be this stupid.. That's it!" Twitch threw the bag behind the tarp. "No going out to the surface! No going on that day! Did you ever wondered why your creators died.."

               "Yeah.. Because I saved you! I saved you in some stupid incident and I paid for it!"

               "No! Twitch thinks that they found you all this time.. They just needed more confirmation. You were going out to them! You are showing yourself to them! You will be caught by them.. I know it! That's what they want you to do Goopy One.. Don't you see!? Twitch is getting a bag of rust, and that's final!"

               "No! I've had it! I'm not dealing with you anymore!"

               As I walk towards my lair, I felt a large bump to the back of my head. I tried to get up, but the pain was too much. My vision blurs. I could only hear the tarp coming off and the Goopy One's footsteps echoing in the distance with the bag shuffling as he moved. I begin to black out. His voice echoing loudly. "I'm not dealing with you anymore.. I'm not dealing with you anymore.." Chains begin to form where I stand. I could only squirm as I hear the voice trailing off in the distance.

               "Come back!" I shout, but eventually the voice disappeared. I look at the chains and try to gnaw them as best as I can, but they seemed unbreakable.

               "It's your turn now.." they echo behind me. "It's your turn to be like us.. To feel our pain.." Suddenly the blue hands came up from the floor. The grow to arms and eventually decayed bodies with the same chains I wore and with the faces of those whose lives I've taken. They whirled around me. "You'll be judged. You'll finally pay. You'll be judged this Snowdown's day.." They went faster and faster. The ghosts suddenly turn to more chains and all of them dragging me down to the floor to their graves. I smash against the floor with no hope of getting up. I gasp for air under the pressure.. I try to fight back, but it was too much. It kept building and building on top of my body. On top of my head until finally... I woke up, feeling my body ache like never before.

               I look down at the sewage with fear of the graves I put down. I step back into the lair, desiring comfort. "Goopy One!? Goopy One!!??" I shout. I look to the tunnels around the lair, but he isn't there. He disappeared with the bag of toys he holds as well as his belongings. The comic books he held so dearly were gone. His figurines were gone. As were his blueprints.. I shudder at their absence, assuming the worst. I went to the roaches that sit in the cracks, watching my suffering. "You! Find him! Now!" I commanded. "And tell me when you do! I'm keeping him here.. He'll be caught by the one called Takeda.. He'll be killed by those surface dwellers! He won't listen to me... He never listens! I'm keeping him here in my sewers... Mark my words!! Mark Twitch's decree!" I go to my lair, grab my crossbow, and a large cask, large enough to be a home for my subject. "I'll find him.. I'll keep him here.."

[steves3511]

So you want to convention

I am going to show you all the supplies you need to rock out your next Comic Convention

At my last convention I attended I was asked about writing a blog post about how I prepare for shows and the essentials I bring with me.  Since I have been thinking of writing a post on this very topic for a while I thought that this was the kick in the pants I needed to finally start writing .This is my third year attending and exhibiting at shows, my second year exhibiting full time as my primary source of income.  Over those three years and almost 30 shows I have exhibited at I have learned a lot about booth setup, packaging, and selling and interacting with customers; and I want to share with you those insights I have learned through trial and error so you wont make those same early mis-steps and hopefully help you have the best show you can.

     First things first, you decide to test out selling at comic conventions and you are like "San Diego Comic Con here I come!"  Hold your horses there brother;  I like many artists strongly recommend starting with your local shows, its hard enough making money at your first show, you don't want to add to that by having to pay for travel and hotel costs as well.  If you are lucky like me and have several friends and family scattered around the country offering a free couch to sleep on it certainly makes things easier, thought that airfare is still pretty killer (baggage fees grrr).  Make things easy for yourself start local and expand out from there.

     So you signed up for your local show, now what? First and most importantly if you are an artist in artist alley you are going to need prints of your work. At shows and online I often get asked where I get my prints from, or if I print myself from home (hell no!!).  Having good prints is really important, it doesn't matter how good your image looks on a computer screen, if it doesn't look good as a print nobody will buy it.  I get my prints from El-Co Colorlabs in NJ (dont worry non New Jersians they ship anywhere)  The prints are more expensive than other places, though I will argue those cheaper prints do not come close to matching the quality of el-co, and I will happily pay a little more for that higher quality. (I challenge anyone to find a place that has better quality at a cheaper price)

High quality photo luster prints for an affordable price, what do you not love about that?

If you are looking to start out slow before splurging on more expensive prints and save a few bucks at the start I know several people get prints from MGX copy and have had pretty good results.  They are a great beginner bang for your buck printer.

     The next big thing you will need is some sort of backdrop.  From experience a lot of the people walking around shows do not look down at the tables, they are all looking up looking for something to catch their eye.  It is really important to have your work up high so people can see it, and to see it from far away.  Every show I have people come up to me saying “OMG I saw your work from way down there and I just had to come over”

     For my backdrop I use a photo backdrop display.  When looking for displays there are a bunch that are cheap and affordable, I strongly recommend getting the most expensive display you can afford.  Those cheap light weight displays are on the flimsy side and may not support your work, try to find one that looks like it is made out of a thicker sturdier metal and preferably says it can support 30-40lbs before bowing.  This is the display I have

Ravelli ABSL Photo Video Backdrop Stand

This is is a similar setup to mine, sturdy enough to hold your prints and also easy to travel with

     Now that you have your display you need something to drape over it and a way to hang your prints.  At my very first show my booth neighbor and super awesome and fellow dragon aficionado Tyler Walpole had a very similar setup to this.  It looked so easy for him to set up/tear down his display, the display also went up high so people could see it from across the hall.  Watching him pull customers in and rake in sales I decided then and there to follow in his footsteps. (note, walk around the show when you can, taking notes on other artists setups and ask them questions, everyone I have met has been happy to answer questions and give helpful advice, you can learn a TON from from your fellow exhibiting artists)  

     What I do is drape a large sheet of felt fabric (Joe Ann’s) over the display and use clamps to hold it in place.  To attach the prints to the fabric I tape the edges of my prints to a backing board and then place velcro to the back of the backing board, the backing board and the print then “sticks” to the fabric and hangs in place.

Heavy Duty Muslin Clamps

I place velcro on the 4 corners and then tape the corners of the print to the backing board.  The print stays flat against the board and to hang it you just "stick it" to the fabric.  Super easy.

     I do recommend having larger prints behind you so it is easier for people to see, these larger prints are my fancy 18X24 limited edition prints.  I use these both as large display prints and also as a higher premium item for customers.  If someone loves your work and has cash to spend and you only have $20 prints then all you are going to get from that customer is $20.

     Okay, now that the backdrop is taken care of now I need a way to display my prints on my table.  First I have some black fabric (Also from Joe Ann’s) draped over the table to make it look all fancy. I then lay out these foldable display stands, one for each print.  Have as many of your prints out on the table as possible.  From experience it is hard to convince people to flip through a print bin/book, so the more stuff you have out on the table the easier it is for people to see and look at.

You can see I have all of my prints laid out in a line so its easy for people to see, you never know what print is going to catch someones eye, solve that by having all of them out.

Gibson Holders 6 DCWB Adjustable Wire Display Easels

If you cant fit everything on the table a good solution for a print bin I have found is this foldable bin I found at Target.  Its the perfect size to hold 11X17 or my 12X18 prints, and its light weight for easy storage and transport.

For the display prints on the table you need some way to protect them and make them stand up.  I currently bag and back all of my prints.  I get re-sealable bags from clearbags.com and the backing boards from Uline (if you don't want 400 backing boards to start you can find them on amazon and elsewhere in packages of 20 or so)  To start out you really only need the backing boards for the display prints; later on as you get busier and want to save precious time during the checkout process you can pre bag all of your prints before the show.  Dont skimp on the bags though, you need some sort of protective bag for people who purchase prints, otherwise they may not buy for fear of damaging them.

     In addition to my prints I also sell tabletop gaming playmats or otherwise known as gigantic mouse pads of my work.  If you are a fantasy artist like me this is a great product to have, gamers love collecting mats that have cool art on them.  Also it helps me stand out from everyone else at the Con, I am usually the only one who has them and its a great option for people who have run out of wall space with all of their prints.  You have no idea how many times at a show I get “holy crap, he has game mats…I need a game mat”  Just beware, these things are super heavy and add a lot of weight to your setup.  If yo are interested in trying out some game mats I strongly recommend Drew Baker, I and many of my friends use him for his mats.

If you do fantasy art, Game mats are a great way to stand out from the crowd and offer something no-one else has

Okay now that you have your super awesome setup, you just sit back and watch people start flooding to your table buying up everything you have….right?  Unfortunately not quite.  No matter how good your work is you still need to sell it to people.  Over the course of a weekend I maybe get 3 or 4 people total that just walk up and say “I need to buy this, how much” every other person that buys from me I have to sell my work to them in some way.  I have seen several artists at shows sit back with their arms folded looking down because sales aren't as good as they hoped.  Trust me, you don't want to be that guy.

     The thing is nobody wants to approach you when you are down in the dumps, at that point it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy where you are bummed you aren't doing well and people aren't approaching you because you are bummed, thus making you even more bummed.

     The best way to break through that cycle is to put on a “Con face” be happy and engaging, say hi to as many people as you can.  No matter how bad a day/week you are having you cannot let it show while you are behind that table.  Smile, be upbeat, say “Hey hows it going” try to get them to stop and start a conversation, and then lead that conversation towards you and your work.  (in my opinion standing behind a table not talking to anyone for 8 hours is boring, if I am not making any money I mine as well have fun talking to people) No matter how bad the day is going you CANNOT let people know, you gotta be happy and engaging the entire time.  There is plenty of time to vent at the bar after the show talking with your neighbors and fellow artists.

     The selling thing is really what is going to make or break your experience at a show.  No matter how nice your display is, no matter how good your work is, if you do not have the confidence in yourself and your work to tell people they should buy this, conventions will be a struggle.

     That being said, my final bit of advice for first time con goers is to just have fun.  Chasing sales throughout a weekend is a stressful endeavor, dont get bummed if you only make back the table cost.  There are a lot of up front costs associated with exhibiting at shows, so if you dont earn a profit at your first show, do not despair and give up (I did not make back the costs of my first show, these things take time to build up).  Have fun, work on your sales pitch, talk to your booth neighbors and ask them lots of questions, and scope out ideas for a better/improved booth setup.  Use the show as a learning experience to apply to future shows and you will have a good time, and the knowledge of this show will make the next one even better.

Finally, if you are looking for more information and knowledge about conventions and selling and running a booth I highly recommend checking out 1 fantastic week.  These guys host a weekly webshow going over not only conventions but how to earn a living as an artist (useful topic dont you say), I learned a lot about selling at conventions and running my business from them and I cannot recommend them enough.

[lsgingasblog]

Of Happy Coincidences and Fated Connections Chapter 6

Act 6

‘The best is yet to come’. Yeah right!

I wake up all hazy, my head is lightheaded and my vision is blurry. People are clamoring around me and I try to get up. My vision is returning, but clearly I am having some bizarre dream in a dream because Diana, Sucy, Amanda, Lotte, Hannah, Barbara  are wearing strange clothing, like fantasy rpg clothing.

Wait….Luluco is here too…..wait….hold up…..shit this might not be a dream. I pass out again.

Luluco. Galactic patrol luluco, she works for galactic organization that goes around stopping crime all over space. Sucy met her over a year back and she’s stopped by a few times. If this is really not a dream than I believe this will be the 3rd time I’ve met with her. She always brings trouble. Roll your eyes all you want because that would be hypocritical of me to say knowing my track heard. No really her troubles are on a much bigger scale.

Shit my head hurts. Ooh now I’m starting to remember………so we recovered fine at Cavendish mansion and Andrew, Diana & I hung out and went out too. It was all very pleasant. Even the first 2 days at the summer house went by without much trouble and we caught up what everyone else did for the last 2 weeks.

Despite dispute and gambles going on between Amanda, constanze, sucy  & surprisingly Hannah with the Appleton boys, we had an eventful time gaming, movie watching and going hiking and having sleepovers. So we are literally running on 3-4 hours per day of sleep.

Today in particular we were planning to just do a BBQ and go swimming, because surprisingly we have only done that a bit the first day.

Everything was going smoothly until……until what? Shit my memory is hazy.

‘Akko look out’ Diana jumps in front of me for a blast meant for me and she is out. Wait what….

Professor Ursula was fighting this gigantic weird mushrooms creature…..wait! did sucy bring some weird mushrooms or something.

Why is my memory so jumbled up. Grrrr. Ooh right croix sensei is down, wait so is sucy….hmmm right! It wasn’t an ordinary mushroom thing. Well apart from being sentient apparently it had an immense resistance for magic. Physical blows were the anything that worked. Hence why you see a few mushrooms minions knocked out around Professor Ursula.

Ooh right I was helping her, but we were having a hard time. Professor Ursula got a good hit and so did I but the main boss wasn’t happy and it spread its spores. Professor Ursula shields me.

With the masks on I hardly think that would be necessary and then the creature sends a blast as well and my last assist was down. I went back to Diana. Begging her to wake up, just when I thought it was all over Luluco shows up.

First thing she says after beaming away with her gun a few mushrooms minions is sorry followed by ‘hey akko, it would be nice to finally meet in better circumstances’ I’m inclined to agree.

So that’s an alien. Huh. See I wasn’t lying. She’s trouble. At a possibly bigger proportion than me.

Really nice girl though when you get to know her and there’s never a dull moment with her, but my life is hectic enough as it is. Also having been in one life or death experience with my girlfriend like literally less than 2 weeks ago is good enough for a lifetime, although with my luck at least 1 year to 2 shouldn’t be too much to ask for alas.

I see Luluco frantically running back to me. Ooh right I should help. She shakes her head and jumps towards me there’s another spore field and this one is much denser. I see how badly she injured the gigantic mushroom boss. Ooh god, he’s angry. She shields me with this weird force-field thing, but the force-field did not close completely around luluco and we both black out anyway.

Right that’s what happened. Wait. Who are those diana, sucy, lotter and the rest?

Ok try to remember……ooh right we’re in final fantasy game.

We-meaning Luluco and I- woke up in Mi’hen High road. I saw a chocobo and rode on one too! They’re cute as heck.

Luluco informed me the creature was a galactic creature that is immensely dangerous due to the amazing dream realities that suck you in. She gave a whole complicated explanation of them being possibly multi verse and my head was hurting. This is even worse than when she told me last summer break about alternate universes and how there were some universes I wasn’t with Diana at all. Preposterous.

I care less about trying to understand the whole complications around that though. Basically the bottom point we have to make it to Zanarkand and beat the mushroom entity to get out of here. Good thing dream time is much quicker than real time so we should go in a brisk pace, but it’s possible to make it before our friends gets sucked into the dream reality and never to return again. Those minion mushrooms are actually lost souls in that dream reality. Creepy.

On our adventure we swiftly beat chocobo eater with the help of a healer and summoner Diana that came to help us. She’s so beautiful I could cry, but she’s not my Diana. This is a Diana that grew up in those final fantasy world or final fantasy multiverse dream, you know what screw it. We’re here let’s just make sure we accomplish our goals.

She was accompanied by Hannah & Barbara which were Samurai and Gunner respectively.

Diana was charmed by me. Ooh no is this technically cheating…..

In any case we ended up joining them in their pilgrimage and it was such a hectic ride we lotte the trainer class traveler and then sucy the black mage. I was the warrior and luluco the berserker.

Then we met our thief Amanda and she also had the lady luck dress as well to change into.

We had briefly been accompanied by the alchemist Constanze and the dark mage Jasminke, but they had previous engagements.

Chariot was apparently did since she was the previous summoner who used the final summoning so that makes sin Croix…..great….well the mushroom creature now….this is so confusing.

I can’t believe it though from mi’hen highroad we walked all the way to mushroom rock road, watch croix/ mushroom creature destroy all those soldiers actually after that whole fiasco we met Amanda in Moonflow when she washed ashore. She recognized me so I guess some parts of the story stayed the same.

Thunder Plains sucked although it would seem to fear of thunder did not get carried over by Rikku to Amanda so I was the one shaking in my boots. Good thing I didn’t have to woe this Diana.

Macalania Woods in particular was both pretty and eerie and it’s around here that things become blurry.

Luluco warned about the dangers of staying in this world for long and not telling yourself constantly it’s a game, but it would seem Luluco is also losing herself in this game. This is bad. However then arranged marriages and abductions were happening and even though this wasn’t my diana and the I was more worried that the lines between reality and this world were beginning to blur I will rescue her.

It would seem travelling a desert, while almost dying of thirst would do the trick in completely having forgotten this was not real. So my memory is a bit hazy all I know that there was a fire at home base of the al bhed and we got the airship and it dropped us off before calm lands.  

Where……oh god…….I kissed this world’s Diana under water! It’s not cheating if it’s not real right?

Calm lands was peaceful and beautiful, however it has some pretty crazy monsters and then there was cold. We found out the lie of the final summoning and we killed Dianalesca. Huh. I guess they changed that.

So where are we now? Ooh right. We’re searching for celestial weapons for our party members. We had just found the last one at omega ruins. Which has the scariest monster around and a thorn berry showed up.

Ooh right this is how I ended up here. I remembered what happened back to Diana and I and the thorn berry like creature and that was my tether to bring me back to who I was and what I had to do. I had to save Diana and my other friends out there in the real world. Lest they become mushrooms minions.

Goodness. I snap my eyes open.

“You remembered as well?”

I nod my head.

It was luluco. She apparently touched a memory crystal and was reminded of Nova and why she had to go back. Also seeing me stabbed and killed by a Thornberry was fairly uncomfortable to watch for her apparently. Luckily we have revive here or phoenix down or varies other revitalizing moves. My diana would love some of them or maybe she already has a few equivalent? I have to ask her more specifically.

So we decided we have to go now. We made it all the way to the end and after a lots of effort and having died over again a few times I almost lost myself but the Taurus zodiac card of Diana protected me and gave me strength when I was at my low point and along with my team, including luluco we finally beat Croix/Sin/whatsermushroomface.

Of course like the final fantasy game luluco and I were the dream people. The irony a dream in a dream. This seems like that movie inception we saw yesterday. Grrr. Does the toll stop or not. God.

This version Diana is sad and I give her one last kiss. This isn’t cheating ok. It’s still Diana.

Luluco also leaves and we bask in being heroes. We wake up and the mushroom monster is in a trance, probably tired of having been defeated and we deal the finishing blow and right on time, because my friends were starting to resemble more mushroom than people.

Good. Luluco gives me a few potions to give to them since the after effects of having been in a multiverse/ dream space takes its toll on the psyche and your energy. Luluco goes about cleaning the minion remains and a few other stuff left behind or affected by the pollen of the whatserface mushroom.

Professor Ursula is waking up first, so I give it to her and give her a few to give to others.

I noticed Diana waking up and as I went to her. She was still out of it and yelled out expelliarmus while pointing her wand at me.

I burst out laughing. Omg. Marathoning Harry Potter those 2 days we were on bed rest had a stronger effect that I thought and that’s when she said some of the things were untrue or silly. She liked it after all. Goodness I will never let her live this down.

Diana despite her weak state was a flustered mess. “Don’t say anything”

“What’s in it for me?”

“For goodness sake Akko”

“Here drink this, but don’t think for a moment I will forget you shouting out that spell”

She scowls, but drinks the potion.

She softens up though and gives me a big kiss “I knew you could do it, akko”

I’m a blushing mess once again and I wanted to tell her about the protection and strength her Taurus card game me during my journey in Final Fantasy world.

When I hear Amanda arguing with an Appleton boy that just woke up. Diana and I had towards the commotion.

“No, No way. I had the coolest dream. I was a gosh darn jedi!”

Ooh it was that rude boy that wanted to torture us when we arrived to Appleton. I mean I don’t care for most of the Appleton guys if I’m honest, but Andrew said the changed quite a lot and even Appleton became less mean-spirited towards witches. That’s good to hear.

“Yeah well were you a girl, passing of as a male knight and a vigilante during the night?”

“I had light sabers!”

“Professor Ursula can make light sabers too in our world big whoop!”

Yeah that’s right. I should ask her about how she makes em. They’re pretty cool.

“Well did you travel in space?”

“Who cares about space when you get girls every night, can you say the same little jedi virgin?”

“Wh-what! How is that relevant?!”

“So you admit you lost!”

“No!”

And luckily Andrew and Professor Ursula ended up mediating that argument.

I’m starving. That means multiverse dream food does not fill you up either once you’re outside of it.

I see food on the table and without thinking I took a bit.

I hear screams of ‘No!’ even from Luluco. Ahh…..I might’ve screwed up. She didn’t finish clearing the table with the food covered in spores.

“Luluco, hello nice to see you again.” She greets her “Anything we can do?” Diana frantically asks

Luluco shakes her head although she gives me half the potion. Ewww it’s gross and that’s the last thing I remember before I pass well that and Diana catching me.

“Honestly akko” Diana moved Akko to an outside bench and put Akko’s face on her lap while she’s petting Akko’s hair.

Amanda comes to tease Diana for being all lovey-dovey but instead gets something even better.

“Minchino……I choose you!”

Amanda breaks out into uncontrolled laughter.

Diana is amused she has something to hold over Akko as well.

Luluco stays for the BBQ and beach time before she has to go back to her duties.

Honestly akko never a dull moment with you or the people you meet and Diana drifts of as well leaning on the wall behind the outside chair and the last thing she hears is Amanda’s booming voice, Professor Ursula telling everyone to calm down and Sucy yellow that mushroom ruled world would truly be the best.

[averil-of-fairlea]

A rock and a hard place

Incorporating this imagine from @imaginexhobbit: Imagine getting into an argument with Thorin and him saying, “I am a king!” And you look him in the eye and reply with, “I don’t give a sh*t!” + this imagine from @imaginethorin: Imagine arm wrestling Thorin for the best sleeping spots along the quest || More Thorin fics || Fanfiction masterlist

You didn’t ask for much. Just a sharpened knife (Fili made sure to keep yours in tip-top shape); a filled water skin (Kili eagerly took care of that need); and, after the troll incident, claim to the largest, flattest rock wherever the company members decided to lay their heads at night.

Ever since you were tossed about like so much garbage in a burlap sack, your lower back needed the support. You were surprisingly alright during the long days of walking, but at night, you had to have something solid against your back.

“Your blade.” Fili offered an exaggerated bow before you with your trusty weapon across his open hands, presenting the finely sharpened knife.

“Thank you, sir.” You mirrored his bow and took the knife from him, tucking it in its sheath inside your waistband.

Kili scurried up, his toothy grin nearly blinding you.  

“Your water, milady.”

“And thank you.” As you accepted the water skin and nodded your thanks, you heard - and felt - your lower back crack. You yawned.

“I suppose that’s my signal to turn in.” You thanked your friends again, then took a look around the camp. The company was finishing up supper and preparing for slumber. The large rock you’d claimed with your bedroll had something tossed over it: Thorin’s coat, made of a thick wolf pelt and black leather.

Your tied pallet still lay at the base of the rock where you’d plopped it as soon as Thorin settled on this stretch of woods for the night. Another scan of the area and you saw him heading to the rock, taking his last swig from his own newly-filled water skin, also courtesy of Kili.

After you snatched his pelt, you practically flew up to him, creating a barrier between him and the rock.  

Thorin lowered his water skin slowly, staring at you with those blue eyes as if you’d lost your marbles.   

“I’m sleeping here,” you said.

You handed him his coat. He tried to hand it back to you. When you didn’t take it, he grabbed it from you and tossed it back on the rock.

“I’ve already claimed this spot,” he said.

“Uh...no. I claimed it with my bedroll. First.”

He sighed and gave a fast, slight eye roll - not quite up to the sky, but enough to let you know he didn’t feel like arguing.

“There are perfectly strong trees all around us. You can lean on the one where I left my things.” 

“Tree roots sticking up from the ground poke my ribs.” 

“Choose another place with a stone, then.”

Fili piped up enthusiastically. “I’ve got one! Here!” Fili pointed to a stone the size of a cheese wheel next to him.

“Yours isn’t big enough for me, Fili.”

Of course, the company took your reply in the crudest way possible.

“OHHHH-HO-HO!” the Dwarves roared. Bilbo buried his smiling face in his hands. Gandalf puffed his pipe as he chuckled.

“That’s not what I meant, you beasts.” No one heard you above the laughter. You rolled your eyes deep into the cosmos and refocused on Thorin.  

“AnyWAY….” You lifted your voice and your chin, trying your best to look defiant. “Why don’t you sleep against the little rock?”

Thorin glanced at it. The mere sight of their leader swiveling his head in their direction made the members of the company settle down.   

Thorin faced you again, arms folded.

“You must be joking,” he said.

“Thorin, my back has been aching off and on since the trolls. You know that. I need the hardness of this rock for support or I’ll be no good in the morning.”

“Have you not noticed me grunting and holding my side? I have been tormented by splitting pains in my back since escaping Goblin-town.”   

You looked from side to side. Should I say it? you asked yourself.

“I thought that was because of old age,” you mumbled.  Thorin glared at you.

You shouldn’t have said it.

“Shall I try massaging you both again?” Oin called out as he cleaned the last bits from his plate.

“NO!” You and Thorin said it in unison. Oin meant well, but his rough hands did more scratching and twisting than therapeutic kneading.

“You say that now, but as soon as I get my hands on some wintergreen oil, you two will be fit as fiddles,” Oin promised. “Let’s hope there’s some in the next village we come across.”

“Until then,” Thorin said, turning to you, “perhaps you can find some other hard place that will suit you.” 

Eyes wide, you looked around frantically. “What other ‘hard place’?”

“Level ground.” He shooed you aside, sat on the rock, and began unlacing his heavy boots.

“Level ground alone won’t do,” you protested. “Neither will sloped ground. I’ve tried both.”

“Thank you for the advisory. Now, if you will excuse me...”

“Let’s fight for the rock,” you proposed.

He sighed. “Another joke.”

“No joke. Let’s arm wrestle.”

Thorin smiled an incredulous smile and shook his head. His shoulders bounced but you heard no laughter from him.  

“You have guts, I’ll give you that.”

You placed your hands on your hips. “What, are you afra-”

Thorin bolted from the rock before you finished. The fact that the top of his head only came to your bottom lip made no difference; he seemed to tower over you.

“The only thing I fear is accidentally breaking your arm. If you cannot wield your knife, if you cannot fight and help protect us as you were hired to do, you will not be paid in full when I retake the mountain.”

“Oh, don’t worry -  I’m getting paid. Worry about finding level ground to sleep on. Or a strong tree. Or some other hard place!” You repeated his quote and imitated his voice down to the growl.

At hearing his words used against him, Thorin’s lips twisted, parted, then clamped shut.  He stomped to the other side of the rock, groaned as he knelt, then started rolling up his tunic sleeve. The company crowded around the rock.   

Thorin nodded toward you. “Come on, then. I haven’t got all night. Neither have you.”

You knelt beside the rock and rolled up your sleeve, your jaw dropping as you beheld Thorin’s bare, bulging arm muscles for the first time.

“Fine, fine. Just sleep on that side,” you said, backing down.

“It’s too jagged. I do not need my back sliced open.” Thorin cocked his head at you. “What, are you afr - ”

“Grrr!!!!” You propped your elbow up, and Thorin clasped his hand around yours, palm to palm.

Twelve Seconds Later....

You unfurled your bedroll against the rock as Thorin paced before you, wearing the same defeated look on his face that he had at the end of your short arm-wrestling match.

You still couldn’t believe you’d bested him. Oh, Thorin may have had brute strength, but you had the motivator of pain pushing you to victory. The tense muscles in your arm strained your shoulders, and the stress there triggered the pangs in your lower back that only leaning against something solid could alleviate. You needed that rock!

I can do this, you’d thought, willing a sly grin to your face, replacing the fierce gaze you held with Thorin. And that’s when, without warning, he loosened his powerful grip. You slammed his hand to the rock, triumphant. The company cheered for you for a moment, until Thorin barked “Silence!” for every dwarf, Elf, man, woman and orc to hear within 50 kilometers.

You went about preparing your spot, getting it nice and comfy, when Thorin made another announcement - lower in volume this time, through gritted teeth.

“By all rights, this spot should be mine,” he seethed. You heard the others, save for Fili and Dwalin who had already gone to their posts for watch duty, giggling as they snuggled into their sleeping sacks.   

“How is it yours? I won!” you reminded him.

“I am a king!”

You shrugged and didn’t flinch at his dagger-eyes. That’s when you said the coarse and disrespectful thing that got your mouth washed out with soap when you were little and exploring your verbal boundaries. You’d have to apologize later, but at that moment you were tired, and not a little nervous about how dearly your muscles would pay come morning for that daft arm-wrestling suggestion. You sure hoped the wintergreen oil would be plentiful in the next town.

You lay down and scooted your back against the rock. Perfect.   

“Hmph!” Thorin turned away, coat in hand, and headed to his bedroll near a tree. All at once he grabbed his right side and bent at his hips, groaning and gritting his teeth until his back pain subsided. You felt terrible, but not enough to give up the rock yet.

“You can have the rock when I go on watch,” you suggested, a little too cheerily.

“A fine idea, if we weren’t on watch together.”  He straightened up slowly.

“Then trade watch duty with someone else, Thorin.”   

He grunted and let out his bedroll. 

“King Thorin, I should say,” you added.

“Aye, you should.” He didn’t turn around. 

As you chuckled into your sore palm, Thorin lay on his threadbare coverlet and folded his pelt. He slammed the side of his face against it, using the pelt as a pillow, and muttered something about slick smiles being an unfair advantages in battle before he fell asleep.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Like father, like daughter; Peter Quill x teen reader

Now this request does have some triggers, do NOT i repeat do NOT give me hate or report this oneshot because this was specific of the requestor to have this mentioned in her oneshot. There IS UNDERAGED DRINKING WHICH I DO NOT SUPPORT!! You can wait till your legal kids, drunk driving ALWAYS CALL SOMEONE TO TAKE U HOME THERE’S NO POINT IN PUTTING YOURSELF AND SOMEONE ELSE IN DANGER, and maybe some swearing? Other than that I hope you all enjoy this :)

_________________________________________________________

"Come on dad!"

"No and this is the last time we discuss this matter!"

"Why can't I go out and explore your planet's dance clubs?" I asked.

"Because 1, they sell alcohol there. 2, they've gotten crazier than I last remember, 3, you are TOO young. And 4, because I said so". Grrr. Okay let's pause this conversation for introductions, my name is (y/n) Quill daughter of the self-proclaimed Star Lord Peter Quill, self-proclaimed hero of the Guardians of the Galaxy. After saving Xandar we explored other galaxies and other planets saving them, robbing them, bit of both at times but right now we decided to just simply take a vacation and dad thought it'd be a great idea to go back to his home planet of Earth for a little visit, see how much it changed since he was taken by Yondu and the Ravagers.

After about a week we've been here, I started to get bored out of my mind that was until I heard a couple of kids my age going to club party downtown. So I asked my dad if I could go and he said no and well you know the rest.

"You really hate me don't you?"

"I do not hate you. I just don't trust with the way people act around now a days. This isn't like back in the 80's when dancing didn't involve sexual touching or impregnating someone. I just want my baby girl safe and not pregnant".

"I can take care of myself dad, Gamora taught me how to break a man's arm with just my thighs".

"And I'll always be grateful to that, but my answer is still no. Now we're gonna get some more supplies and leave first thing in the morning for Knowhere, I received a transmission from Cosmo about a problem they're having". My dad then walked away leaving me alone in my room pouting.

Once, just once I'd like to do something fun that's not just stealing from everyone or saving the galaxy I mean don't get me wrong I like that stuff but it gets boring when you do it every single day in an endless cycle. So I decided that if I wasn't going to get permission to go the party downtown, I was gonna have to sneak out.

I waited till nightfall when the team and I would be gathering supplies plus other stuff that we wanted from Earth to take with us. And when I placed in my new "laptop" into my room I then ran into my dad and said.

"Hey dad, I happened to have seen this really rare vintage guitar and I really, really wanna buy it so can I? Please?"

"Alright but be back in an hour and a half, we'll be leaving by then okay?" I ran off but my dad stopped me by saying, "hey hold on!" He ran up to me and hugged me tightly and said, "I love you yah little monster"

"I love you too yah big dork, now can I please go the shop's about to close".

"Okay, okay go on then. And watch out for gangs and muggers on the streets!" He called out to me as I ran onwards but I wasn't going to the music store.

When I got downtown and saw the club bursting with life and sound, my heart raced with anxiety but mostly excitement, my first real human party with no aliens and no father to breathe down my neck. I entered inside when a guy in all black stopped me and said.

"ID kid?"

"Ahh yes here you go," I showed him my special psychic paper that even though it would appear blank before me, to anyone else it could show anything I wanted to so I was indeed a normal Earth being and some freak who appears human but whose baby mama was an alien model for "Space-Vogue".

"Alright step on in". He said as he moved to the side and handed me back my psychic paper. I kissed it and said.

"Oh thank you Captain". I slip my wallet back into my pants pocket and took in all the clubbing scene. Everyone was dancing, jumping up and down, flashy lights everywhere, music booming and vibrating off the walls and all around me were laughs and loud talking.

I tried to make my way through the crowd when I took notice the group of teens from earlier and one of the boys of the group was looking right at me and I gotta admit he was pretty cute for a Terran. He came up to me and said.

"Hey there".

"Hello". I said.

"I don't think I've seen you around before? I mean I'd recognize a beautiful face such as yours anywhere". I lightly blushed and said.

"Just a visitor passing by, my dad doesn't really know that I'm here".

"Ahh you snuck out too huh? Yeah my friends and I did that too, come on let me introduce you uhh—"

"(Y/n)".

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl, name's (b/n) come on I'll introduce you". He wrapped his arm around my back and guided me towards his group of friends. We all talked and chatted away and danced some when (b/n) came in with a bottle of scotch and his friends all began cheering. "Come on (y/n) what you haven't drank before?"

"Oh yeah I've done it before, lots of times, I even once beat both my uncle Drax and Rocket into a drinking competition, but it was with stuff a whole lot stronger. But I promised my dad I wasn't going to do it anymore, he grounded me for 6 months".

"Well what your old man won't know, won't hurt him". He handed me a shot glass of scotch and one of the girls cheered me on.

"Come on (y/n)! Live it up!" Soon everyone started cheering me on and I looked to (b/n) and smirked at him.

Meanwhile back at the Milano, Peter was pacing frantically as he said.

"It's been hours already. Where could she be?"

"Take it easy Peter, I'm sure she's fine" Gamora stated.

"How the hell can you be so calm about this Gamora?!"

"More importantly how have you not fallen down from the floor already Quill? You've been pacing in the same circle for over 2 hours now" Rocket said as he was admiring his huge and I mean HUGE sack of duct-tape he had "gotten". A fiddle was heard at the door and the Guardians all looked at each other worriedly only they knew where they were staying at and the people at the desk swore they'd keep it hush-hush.

"Okay everyone stay here, I'll see who it is". Peter walked up to the door with his blaster ready to fire but when he opened it he saw me on the floor.

"Hey! You got the door open dad!" I exasperated happily.

"Excuse me sir is she your daughter?" A male officer asked as he helped balance me along with a female cop.

"Yes she is, is there a problem officer?"

"We caught her and a bunch of other teenagers drinking at a club downtown. They then proceeded to cause a rumble to happen outside the club. Now given the fact that she wasn't near the fight and just wandering the streets drunk we brought her home here. No charges will be put in her name". The female officer said.

"Thank you officers, thank you" my dad stated trying to keep his calm and not blow his top. "Okay sweetheart come here" my dad then picked me up and I went "wee!" "Have a goodnight officers and thanks again and I am terribly sorry for all the fuss".

"No worries, just be sure to keep your girl under radar, next time we may not be so forgiving about it" the male officer said then the two of them left.

My dad walked me back inside and dropped me into the couch making me bounce a bit into the air.

"Wow! Bouncy, bouncy. Very bouncy".

"(Y/n) (m/n) Quill do have any idea how worried sick I was!?"

"Shhhh, don't tell dad this but—tee-hee I snuck out to go to that party downtown".

"No really I had no idea!?" My dad spat out sarcastically!

"Shhhh I told you to keep it down" soon I passed out from all the scotch. My dad shook his head and threw me over his shoulder and said to the other Guardians.

"We're leaving. Now!" No one dared test Peter because none of them had seen him this mad since the first time I drank behind his back. They went to the roof of the hotel and Rocket unmasked the Milano and we all boarded inside and dad set me on my bed and went back to the control room. "Gamora you take first watch over (y/n), Rocket and Groot you'll take the second and Drax you take the third. If she wakes up during any of your shifts call me immediately". Dad demanded sternly.

"And what are you going to do while we watch over your daughter?" asked Drax.

"I'm preparing my beyond grounded till the end of the galaxy speech!" Dad then punched the gears and the Milano then took off out into the atmosphere.

I woke up to a massive hangover. My head pouncing hardly like I had ran into a steal wall leaped into the air and dove down head first on top of the Dark Aster. My eyes flinched and I heard my dad say.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead!" I groaned in agony and whispered.

"Do you have to be so loud?"

"Let me think oh umm—YES!!" I cried out in pain and said.

"What is wrong with you? I have a hangover and this is how you take care of your own daughter?"

"Well my daughter wouldn't have disobeyed me and gone to that party and get involved with other underage drinkers and almost get involved in their fight! You're lucky when you get drunk you get all loopy and giddy!" My dad then placed a water and a pill down for me and I took it and groaned in pain. "So, start talking. Why'd you do it?"

"Why do you care?" I snapped.

"Because my daughter went behind my back and I wanna know why!?"

"Fine you wanna know!? I'm sick and tired of doing the same damn thing over and over again. We save the day, we steal stuff, we go to parties. You over my neck! I'm not a little kid anymore dad! If I wanted to go dancing and have a couple of drinks with new friends I can do that!"

"Not if those so called friends get into fights when they've had one too many!"

"It's my life dad! Stop trying to control me!"

"I'm sorry. My sister DIED because of a drunk driver! I wasn't going to allow my little girl to suffer the same fate!" Dad choked out with tears in his eyes. My anger diminished and I just looked at him in shock. Dad then tried to say something but he as too upset to even speak as he sat down at one of my chairs. I slowly walked up to him and sat down beside him and said softly.

"I didn't know you had a sister".

"Older sister by 8 years. Oh man (y/n) she was my bestest friend, she did everything for me, and she was there when your grandmother was—well you know".

"What happened to her?" My dad sighed deeply and proceeded to tell me.

"I thought that forgetting about it would make the pain easier, but sadly time doesn't heal all wounds. She was on her way home from a school dance. She had gotten asked out to prom, I was staying with my grandpa at the time cause me mom was still being processed if she had cancer or not. She was almost home like by five minutes when this asshole ran a stop sign and T-boned my sister's car. She died almost instantly in the crash. I was devastated, I had lost the only real friend I ever had and my role model. I looked up to her for everything, and even though we'd mess around with each other I loved her and she loved me. And looking at you, you remind me of her in every way". I smiled softly as dad ruffled my hair gently.

"I'm sorry daddy. I just wanted to try something different and just be free for once. But I guess I'm not really ready, am I?"

"You've grown up so fast I just can't help but think of that baby girl wrapped in pink. And when I blink you're suddenly all grown up like you are now. Kick-ass and all". We both smiled and I said.

"Whatever punishment you have I'll take it, I deserve it. I was selfish and I lied to you".

"Ehhh, how about I let this one slide? After all I did way more stupider stuff than you did when I was your age. Like father, like daughter as I used to hear back when I lived on Earth". He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and brought me into a sideways hug. "I love you (y/n)".

"I love you too daddy". I whispered as I leaned into my father's chest listening to his heartbeat lull me back to sleep.

[hithelleth]

The 100 4 x 11-13

Finally caught up, so putting down some notes for myself so I don’t forget everything over the hiatus.

4 x 11 “The Other Side” was the worst, I get what they were trying to do, but I’ve been fed up with this sort of BS mentality since S fucking 1, so.

And, yeah, apparently I can hate Jaha still more (though I hated him a little less in 4x13 later but hardly through any of Jaha’s own merit.) Clarke, Jaha is not a good role model for you.

Bellamy was breaking my heart by trying to get to open the door and hurting himself. I loved that Abby helped him – at least she seems to have learnt from the past. And I especially loved what he told her, repeating Marcus’s words that they need to earn back deserving to survive by doing better each day than the day before.

The being worthy of survival is the running question of the show, but I’d like people to finally learn a lesson from it instead of just repeating the same mistakes and questionable choices over and over. Although, of course, Clarke was right in 4 x 12 that there were no good choices – but so was Bellamy when he said that the current choice wasn’t comparable to the Dropship/Mt. Weather/ALIE situation.

Also fed up with the Arkadians superiority complex.

Jasper’s clique’s mass suicide was also a terrible story arc. Again, I get what they wanted to explore, but the execution was less than adequate and basically over the line (see, this actually was the romantisation antis like to scream about) – and while on one hand I could relate with Jasper’s mentality (giving up, going out the easy way, being tired of fighting and pain), I cannot approve with the superficial treatment of it as well as the outcome. Maybe it was realistic or edgy or whatever, but it was hella depressing. Not cool, show, not cool.

Raven’s part of the episode was the best, with alternating Becca and Sinclair hallucinations and reason and will to live winning, thanks goodness.

The science was of course BS, but on the other hand their ability to bluff their way through it is kinda admirable, lol.

I loved that Echo decided to trusting Bellamy’s will to open the door was the best option.

Anyway, with Abby’s help Bellamy got the door bunker open since Clarke was unable to shoot him and in

4 x 12 “The Chosen”

we were back to Octavia’s plan to share the bunker with everyone and Arkadians having to choose a 100 among them. (And boy do I love the poetic ‘justice’ of it.)

Fucking Jaha was, of course, inciting rebellion and some guy went on and on about how Skaikru deserved more spots because of their knowledge yada, yada.

Loved Octavia standing up to Jaha and throwing it back into his face how she is supposedly one of them. Loved Octavia feeling undeserving of being looked to by the grounders for leadership as the champion and at least mentioning Roan’s help. (I’m not over you-know-what.)

I also understood why she threw Echo out.

Also, continuing loving Indra’s mentorship and support and Octavia actually turning and listening to her.

At least stupid Jaha did the right thing at the end, although only thanks to Marcus’s quick thinking and convincing talk, so they gassed the mob and then used Clarke's list to pick who stayed + all the kids (although I assume the kids were already on Clarke’s list) while the Grounders took everyone else out of the bunker.  

How does Jaha get to stay in the bunker, though? I thought they need young fertile people and experts and Jaha is neither young not an expert in anything but being able to manipulate people (okay, he’s a man, so still fertile, but yuck, I don’t even want to go there).

By the rules, Jaha should’ve been out, except that of course the actor has a contract (and look, shitty person or not, I don’t wish anyone to lose a job) and so we’ll have another season of Jaha’s BS. (It won’t surprise me if he does more backstabbing, manipulating, and shitty deals with the prisoners next season.)

Abby renounced her spot in the bunker out of guilt, but then Marcus followed the list and had her stay – but unlike Jaha, even if I didn’t like her (but I do), Abby is actually necessary as the senior doctor.

I liked Marcus’s ‘that’s how we save our people’ – because yes, that’s the way to do it both physically and in terms of humanity. Though his frantic repeating of it was also heartbreaking.

Meanwhile, Bellamy, Clarke, Murphy, and Emori went to get Raven (since they would need her), but were jumped by some grounders who wanted their suits, but fortunately Echo saved them, but the attack damaged the truck and Emori’s suit in the process. (BTW, loved Murphy and Emori and ‘your home is with me’.)

Clarke gave Emori her suit, since she had nightblood that seemed to be working, but thee was no time to made more and immunise everyone (not to mention needing to convince the grounders to let extra people stay – and they couldn’t open the bunker anyway to let them out after a few days because that would let the radiation in.)

Monty and Harper detoured from their way to Polis and pick them up, but they ran out of time to return to the bunker.

So the new plan was to go to the ring left behind by the Ark, with leftover water filtration system and an algae farm and they would take an oxygenator from the island with them. 4 x 13 “Praimfaya” Bellamy said goodbye to Octavia. I loved comparing her to Prometheus (and she obviously knowing what he’s talking about) giving people hope.

Then radio died and Clarke couldn’t say goodbye to Abby, so we got Bellarke huggles. ;)

Apparently it’s 210 miles from Polis to the island. They forgot to count shitty roads instead of highways, so if you neglect that, it even kinda works out (5-hour drive in one direction.)

Then it was a rush to get everything together to launch before the radiation wave. Murhy helped Monty get the oxygenator and even managed to endear himself to Monty a little by choosing the equipment over him, lol. (Loved the ‘I don’t hate you anymore’ and Bellamy’s ‘give it time’. And hugs!)

Echo was about to kill herself, but Bellamy stopped her and I loved that and her remembering she betrayed them.

Communications failed, so someone had to go restore them and since everyone was busy with other things, Clarke did it, but the tech failed some more and she had to go align the satellite dish manually to make it possible for the power on the Ring turn on and so she ran out of time to return and the others launched without her, thinking she died. Ouch.

I loved the teamwork and sharing the oxygen and all, though.

In the end we saw a time jump of six years and seven days with Clarke trying to radio the Ring and telling Bellamy the bunker was buried under the rubble and silent, as well. She apparently lived in the truck with a young nightblood girl.

Cue a large fucking spaceship marked as ‘prison transport’ landing and Clarke telling Maddie to load all her guns. So, overall:

Despite me being fed up with the fucking endless fighting, it was kinda good season (at least until 4x10 – and a stubborn part of me still wants to believe Roan is not dead, grrr. That’s why AUs are for.)

It doesn’t look like they’ll change the show’s MO any time soon, so we’ll get more fighting for survival in S5. Can we at least hope that in 6+ years in the bunker Wankru got their shit together enough to stick together and work together? I know it’s too much to hope that these new arrivals would be more rational and prone to talk and negotiate rather than fight, but maybe? Pretty please? And Wankru learning from the umpteenth past mistakes and being able to do the same? Come on! (Yeah, I know, not gonna happen.)

I wonder how many of the new arrivals are there? The space ship looked hella big so I think maybe at least a 1000, or maybe even a couple thousand plus (an even more important factor) all the heavy machinery.) But in roughly 150+ years at least they managed to stick to English, so there’s that.

The show also managed to bluff its way through science plausibly enough that I can handwave it and let it be if I don’t think too much about it, so that was better than I expected before the season started, too.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. On one hand I love that Octavia found her place and that maybe Wankru can finally learn to live with each other in peace and I like how they spun the Clarke’s nightblood story to enable her survival and her helipng others to survive (also, it was the expectedly heroic story for the lead.) On the other hand, of course, it was white-saviourism galore. But, oh, well.

I will probably return for S5 because of characters, though I am so not looking forward to the potential of more of the same stories about fighting and such. But who knows, maybe the writers decide to do something new and surprise me in a more pleasant way.