#I’m going to be in court looking like I’m hunting aliens

[goblingirlpicnic]

I got a cute lil coat and now I feel like Dana Scully ❤️

[ozzgin]

So @moonthundersoldier requested a Predator x Reader headcanon and I have to say, I took my time with it as an excuse to watch Prey and whip out my dusty old comics. I‘m a big fan of Alien and Predator and this was my chance to finally try my hand at it! Hopefully it turns out alright.

Various Predators x Predator! Reader Headcanons

Featuring various Yautja types that independently find and court a mysterious reader raised by humans.

Part 1: Meeting

Part 2: Courting

Part 3: Mating

Backstory

The earliest memory you have of your parents consists only of their wide backs as they hastily controlled the ship, looking for a new hunting ground. You were born to a pair of bad bloods that have been exiled by their clan. They were loudly typing in the parameters for the landing, which so far wasn’t looking gracious. Just as the ship brushed against Earth‘s atmosphere, a foreign vessel appeared behind. Judging by the angry growls of your parents, it wasn’t a good thing.

You of course don’t recall any of it, but what followed was a swift battle once the landing jets touched the ground. The second ship opened up without delay and several Predators in stark white armor marched their way out. They were enforcers, dispatched to hunt down criminals such as your parents. As they finished their gruesome task, they noticed the remaining heat radiating from the cockpit. Had they missed a member? Then again, the overall shape was too small for a regular man. One of the officers climbed into the collapsed remains of the ship and spotted you. Troublesome. He nonchalantly grabbed your carrier and walked out, showing the cause of mild concern to the others. The important things such as weapons were to be returned to Yautja Prime, anything else destroyed. So, what were they supposed to do with you?

The answer was found rather quickly, as their helmets notified them of approaching life forms. Most likely wild animals, in which case you would also be taken care of. The suckling of fugitives could hardly integrate back in the clan. This was for the best. So they quickly discarded the remaining wreckage and boarded their vessel once again.

“Oh God, what is that?” a tall man shouts as he approaches your abandoned carrier, holding tight onto the shotgun. “Some sort of creature…Be careful!”

The plump woman with a sunburned face that had followed behind was now just a few inches from you, bending over with genuine curiosity. “Are you serious right now? Put that shotgun down, it’s a baby!” Seemingly unperturbed by your unusual appearance, she picked you up and briefly analyzed your features before lifting your carrier and turning around. “Let’s go, I’m not leaving a child behind. We’ll figure it out.”

Reader’s countryside life

And so you were raised by honest, loving and - most importantly - human farmers. Since you’ve been equipped with proper, superior intelligence, it has been easy for you to acquire the human language. The clicks and growls were slowly replaced with fully articulated words. Save for your reptilian appearance, you are otherwise an authentic member of the family.

You might have the docile, caring behavior of a human, but your predator instincts have not been discarded. You’re taller and stronger than your “relatives”, and the more dangerous labor of guarding or hunting has been in your hands for many years now. The old shotgun now serves as a dusty wall decoration, it could never compete with your claws, speed and ferocity. Your heart remains that of a hunter.

Eventually it becomes a vague gossip within the cities of Yautja Prime that one of their own might be roaming Earth, completely unaware of their roots. A Predator woman, trained by humans. What would the outcome be? Curiosity peaks for certain Predators and they can’t help but wish to see you with their own eyes. Maybe the different backgrounds would provide future younglings with unknown exotic advantages.

Your peaceful life comes to an end when the first of many suitors descends onto the bizarre planet and manages to track you down. The first encounter leaves you speechless: are there more individuals like you out there? You feel relief flushing over you as the knowledge of similar creatures settles in. You weren’t alone, after all. And soon enough you even learn to describe what you’ve always questioned about yourself. You’re a Yautja, a Predator.

Predators meeting the reader

You’ve really caught the feral Predator’s eyes. He has parted ways with modern technology a long time ago and prefers to hunt with minimal tools. He finds your way of surviving very similar to his tribal lifestyle, relying more on strength and agility that have been polished in raw nature. He’s the one that teaches you the native language and tells you about the Homeworld, though he suspects you come from a different hemisphere. He likes to observe the tactics you’ve developed to hunt the animals of this world and shares his own experience and tips with you. He has grown fond of the wilderness on this planet and plans to propose that the two of you build a family away from the needless hassle of cities. If there’s such a thing as a soul mate, then Black Warrior has entrusted him to be yours.

The visit you receive from an elite Predator is not as cozy. He watches you from afar and notices your interactions with the humans. His guide marks them as targets, so why are you acting all chummy with boring prey? They don’t seem to have combat skills and yet you bring them game and offer protection. He refuses to believe that you’ve been in some way enslaved, bringing shame to your kind. He decides to confront you and demand answers. Having learned the language, you explain that this is your clan, the family that raised you. You’re a bit annoyed that this complete stranger is bringing in his hierarchies and social constructs as some sort of universal law. You do not care for his philosophy of power and warn him to be respectful of the customs here. Aha, there it is. Your imposing figure and assertive threats confirm to him you’re a proper Yautja despite the circumstances. His initial frown is replaced by a satisfied expression. Don’t worry, your potential won’t go to waste in this dump of weaklings. He’ll take you home with him and show you the true meaning of a Predator family. Even if he has to fight you a little for it.

This fugitive bad blood has finally found you. He’d known your parents for a long time and heard about their demise, but he never expected they’d leave an offspring behind. He scans your figure with a certain impertinence, pleased by what he sees. Should he kill the humans and capture you as his mate? It’s certainly the most entertaining option. He smugly shows you his trophy belt, bearing the skulls of defeated prey, and asks you if your little creatures deserve a spot. You assume a fighting stance and erratic clicking sounds erupt from his chest, most likely a laugh. You have no tools and you’ve only ever fought…what…little Earth piglets half the size of a Predator Hound? But it’s alright, he wants a feisty mother for his children. Give your best shot.

By far the most challenging admirer has been the Berserker. You can see the similarity between the two of you, but the blood red eyes are unlike all the other Predators you’ve encountered before. Merely seconds after discovering your presence, the creature attempted to dominate you and you had to trash your way out of its grasp. You try to assess the situation but have little time to contemplate before the next attack occurs. He’s heavier and larger than you or the other Predators and as much as you hate to admit, taking him down could prove difficult. What does he want? He thankfully hasn’t redirected his aim towards your family, and if he so desired he may have killed you by now. He retracts his claws and turns to face you once again. He’s mocking you, not even keeping his guard up. But there’s something else in his eyes, a primal urge that sends cold shivers down your spine. He’s going to make you his.

[deathsbestgirl]

fire 1.12

i know there are mixed feelings about this episode — the case is weird & anytime i think about it too much, it seems there are some holes in it. but i think it’s such a great one for mulder & scully and a view into mulder’s psyche. i hate phoebe green, but i feel like i react to her more similarly to the way scully does in the episode. she obviously doesn’t like her, but she doesn’t say anything too outright unless mulder does first. i love the way she makes her presence known, does work on the case, and cares of him when he needs it. and they talk about personal things but still try to maintain a certain distance this early on. as always, i love the journey.

(it’s long because quotes)

anyway, onward!

honestly one of my favorite early scenes. it’s hilarious to me that scully has nothing in her hands and he’s carrying a stack of books as they return to the car from court. like why lol

i forgot what it was like to spend a day in court.

that’s one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants. you rarely get to press charges.

*scully laughs* it’s opened.

what?

it’s unlocked.

that’s weird. i’m sure i locked it.

must be an x file.

*mulder laughs*

literally one of their cutest exchanges yet. i love scully’s real smile and her laugh and his goofy little laugh at her joke. it’s kinda like he still doesn’t quite get she’s ribbing him all in good fun and not actually at his expense.

~queue phoebe green’s twisted humor and not in a good way honestly~ like this bitch doesn’t know mulder anymore and she doesn’t know scully (probably doesn’t know about her but still, yikes) — did mulder recognize her voice?

scully was really absorbing what she was as hearing, her gasp when phoebe opens the door…

also literally just noticed that phoebe doesn’t actually kiss mulder square on the mouth, it’s at the edge of his lips, a weirdly lingering kiss for a man you haven’t seen in ten years…

i also love the way mulder calls her out immediately for the way she hurt him.

aren’t we looking rather ghostly?

it’s an old friend.

aren’t you going to thank me?

for what?

saving your life. one tends not to make the same mistake twice.

i’ll try to remember that.

oh come on, don’t tell me you left your sense of humor in oxford ten years ago.

no, actually, it’s one of the few things you didn’t drive a stake through.

*phoebe kisses him*

you know, some mistakes are quite worth making twice.

dana scully, this is, uh, phoebe green. terror of scotland yard.

hello.

hello.

she hates me.

what brings you to the colonies?

like. that’s kind of unlike mulder? but specifically what gets me in this whole exchange is the way he looks at scully when he says “it’s an old friend” no she is not and scully immediately gets the vibe. and the ~won’t make the same mistake twice~ bit — he isn’t planning to go there with phoebe again but they both remember what she does to him and it is *not* a compliment. if anything (the little window into his psyche) his childhood trauma made him a perfect victim for phoebe. treat him like shit, giving breadcrumbs to keep stringing him along, cruel “jokes” at his expense, abusing her personal knowledge of him, just keep him seeking her approval because she knows he’ll keep trying to get it. it’s fucked up.

and i think this might be the first time scully really gets to see that in him. she’s seen mulder get bullied, taken advantage of and he kinda just lets it happen & suffers through. but this is another layer. and she’s so put off by the kiss and phoebe immediately clocks the reaction. she’s ready to play her games with him.

the way mulder ignores most of phoebe’s comments & advances — making phoebe tell him why he should thank her, both mistake comments, the kiss, ~she hates me~ — he just plows forward, trying not to give her an inch.

and just like phoebe clocked scully, scully can see her game. the manipulation. (this bitch has the same vibe as the wendi go lady in charmed)

ALSO idk why but mulder introducing scully by saying first & last name feels significant. not that he hasn’t done it before or won’t do it again, but he calls her scully & he had to say “dana scully” emphasizing she’s a woman, she’s important and i think it signals to scully there’s something to be wary about here. he uses dana in vulnerable moments. whether it’s him or her that’s vulnerable. any vulnerability between them, dana comes out of his mouth.

three pipe problem?

that’s, uh, from sherlock holmes. it’s a private joke.

how private?

um…we knew each other in school in england. she was brilliant, and uh, i got in over my head, and uh, paid the price.

mulder, you just keep unfolding like a flower.

that was over ten years ago, scully.

yeah, i noticed how you couldn’t drop everything fast enough in order to help her out.

oh, i was merely extending her a professional courtesy.

oh, is that what you were extending?

look, i am going to run this by the arson guys and then she’s on her own.

something tells me you’re not going to get rid of her that easily.

and she’s reading mulder like he’s an open book. his defenses crumbled so quickly. he barely said anything, but she can read between the lines (and i wonder, did she have any similar relationships or somehow just know people like phoebe? who in her life had a similar situation? cuz in my experience anyway, you need to witness it or experience it to pick up on it so quickly)

[sidebar — that picture looks exactly like the woman, how are they not freaked out?! lmao also i’m sorry but this woman’s voice annoys tf out of me 😭)

so sherlock, is the game afoot?

afraid so, watson…but you’re off the hook on this one.

what do you mean?

i mean, i’m not gonna put you through this.

put me through what?

phoebe’s little mind game.

what are you talking about?

there’s something else i haven’t told you about myself, scully…i hate fire. hate it. i’m scared to death of it…when i was a kid, my best friend’s house burned down. had to spend the night in the rubble to keep away looters. for years i had nightmares about being trapped in a burning building.

wait, and phoebe knows about this?

oh yeah. this is classic pheobe greene, mind game player extraordinaire. ten years it’s taken me to forget about this woman, and she shows up in my life with a case likes this.

so she shows up knowing the power she has over you and then she makes you walk through fire. is that it?

phoebe is fire.

mulder, are you sure you don’t want me to help you out on this one?

sooner or later, a man’s got to his demons.

i love the way scully makes sure he knows she’s there & available to help him get through this. the way she shows insight to phoebe’s behavior (honestly reminds me of all things, but at least daniel was vulnerable with her. at least during that episode if not during their actual relationship.)

and again, mulder opens up to her a little more. again, a different kind of vulnerability than sharing about his sister or letting her see how deeply her abduction affects him. this was a serious personal relationship (assumed few & far between for him) that caused him real heartbreak & harm. romance isn’t something they typically talk about, only when it comes up organically (jersey devil & scully’s date, her relationship with jack,l. i wonder if mulder actually avoided telling her about diana fowley when she appears because of how it’s gone for them before?)

at this point in their partnership & relationship, they don’t just let each other carry their burdens alone. mulder is trying to save scully the trouble of dealing with phoebe’s games — he know she’ll pull scully in too, even if only to get to him and he doesn’t want that for either of them. but scully won’t sit idly by during a case, even if it’s unofficial, while her partner is working it & it’s one that troubles him.

deftly done, agent mulder. casually disregard her indiscretion. a firm but polite manner until she accedes to cooperate.

it’s a technique i refined in my relationship with you.

oh, yes, well i see you haven’t lost your sense of humor after all.

i’m sorry, that was a cheap shot. i don’t want to dredge up the past. let’s just stick to the case.

let’s.

look, pheobe, i —

unless i’m mistaken, ten years seems sufficient time to have forgiven, if not forgotten, a few youthful indiscretions.

i’m cursed with a photographic memory.

then don’t you tell me that you’ve forgotten a certain youthful indiscretion…atop sir arthur conan doyle’s tombstone on a misty night in windlesham.

like i said, let’s just stick to the case.

she is exceedingly frustrating. people like her know how to use genuine emotion, or a facade that seems real, to make the person they hurt feel guilty for hurting them with the facts of what they’ve done. they want their victim to forgive & forget, never taking the harm they caused seriously and using any opening in the person’s defenses to weasel their way back in to get what they want. it’s hard to watch. because mulder is the perfect victim for this. he remembers the good & the bad and he wants to believe in the goodness of people he’s let close to him, of people he’s trusted. and his empathy is honestly off the charts for them & anyone he feels some kind of kinship with. so he ends up apologizing to her for a “cheap shot” when it seems deserved because she’s trying to reel him in again. and the music tries to make it appear genuine, vulnerable. but it isn’t.

scully in the office doing paperwork, with the arson case file just sitting in front of her. how long did she try to resist reading through it? presumably, she’s been there all day while mulder runs around with pheobe…

it’s lowkey my favorite thing that scully does so much profiling? maybe not as in depth as mulder can & would go, but she’s always spot on for the type of person they’re looking for. and she’s so good at finding all the information they need to find them. she’s the one who actually cracks the case because she did the legwork in the office, while they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. her science brain also works through plausible explanations they don’t seem to be thinking about at all — because they aren’t capable given their backgrounds and i love it.

agent beatty. i’m special agent dana scully. can i steal a minute of your time?

oh yeah, sure, come in. i’m just working on this mafia torch job here.

i’m working with agent mulder.

oh yeah, wild case. so what can i do for you?

you mentioned that the arsonist might be using some kind of rocket fuel as an accelerant.

yeah, that’s just speculation. it still doesn’t explain how he sets bodies on fire.

what if he got some of this fuel into some hand cream or..?

well, you’ve got to understand, that even the smallest amounts of this stuff can produce temperatures over 5000°, but i suppose it’s not impossible. extremely diluted. but you still have to find a way to ignite it.

like. how is she the only one who seems to realize the perpetrator has to be pretty close to them? but i suppose she’s really the only one working with a clear head on this & giving it her full attention…it makes no sense to me

mulder makes the comment about ~i’m not used to someone so quick to agree with me~ screw that 🙃🙃 and then phoebe goes & offers up a nice hotel room AND THEN he basically rejects scully, he’s gonna ‘have his hands full’ (like bro she’s figured out who it is. what is wrong with you??) but i think scully sees it for what it is, he’s falling into phoebe’s trap like he was trying not to. the trap he wouldn’t let her fall into with him.

and of course scully shows up right when they start dancing together and gets to witness the real kiss — like why did they write that if not for romantic undercurrents

(“that doesn’t mean there won’t be any fires to put out…i’ve thought about you often.” and that kiss was disgusting— i want to die and so does scully)

then she literally sees cecil lively standing there watching. when she turns back around, he’s gone.

and once again, agent scully is the only one focused and doing her job. it’s because of *her* the boys are saved — idc if cecil takes the credit & actually gets them out. that was purposeful misdirection on his part and even if he didn’t do it & mulder couldn’t, someone would have gotten to them in time. (cuz tv mostly lol)

DID MULDER RUN UP 14 FLIGHTS?! like i know you’re not supposed to take the elevator but DAMN like of course he collapses. even if he wasn’t terrified of fire, to run up that many stairs and then inhale a smoke immediately. (and fucking cecil took them in the elevator…)

so strange how this man isn’t coughing at all from the smoke inhalation — no one thought that was odd? the kids & mulder are in rough shape…

and scully’s right there to take care of mulder — and when he wakes up. his first stupid question is “where’s phoebe?” did he really expect her to be there by his bedside? scully is so sweet and gentle with him, i want to die for a good reason this time.

(scully) what happened to you up there?

(mulder) i panicked. couldn’t move, scully.

(s) it couldn’t could have happened to anyone.

(m) yeah but it happened to me. i haired out, plain and simple.

(s) what do you know about this guy that saved the kids — the driver?

(phoebe) i checked him out prior to the marsdens’ arrival. he’s worked on the property for eight years. no record. his references checked out. they were lucky he was here tonight.

(s) who was watching the kids tonight?

(p) he was.

(s) are you sure? i could have sworn i saw him down in the hallway, about the same time that the fire broke out.

(p) you couldn’t have. anyway, the man we’re looking for is english.

(m) hey.

(p) i came to see if you were okay.

(m) how are the kids.

(p) they’re fine. everybody’s anxious to get back.

(m) ti the cape?

(p) only to pack. they’ve made travel arrangements back to england for the day after tomorrow.

(m) and you?

(p) i’ll be leaving in a few days…look, i’ll give you a ring back at the bureau before i leave…goodbye.

(s) you okay?

(m) yeah.

you at all interested in what i came all the way up here to show you?

yeah.

how did phoebe not realize that cecil wasn’t the driver? she literally sucks as an investigator.

and *of course* scully managed to do research on arson profiles and dig into the workers & who’s traveled into the u.s. at the right time. got his name, found some strange information about cecil.

(mulder’s hair is horrific in this episode)

scully is so gentle with him. she never pushes too much or too hard. but she’s the one giving him answers & solving the case they didn’t ask for.

scully was fucking right — personally i think she’s right more often than fandom acts is true? and mulder is wrong a lot more often too. what’s most common is a combination of both their theories? idk maybe. can’t say i’ve kept a tally lol

and THE LOOK scully gives mulder as he jumps up excited at all the information she gives, taking off his robe — fucking priceless. i think it’s the first time she’s really considered him beyond their partnership or friendship. she’s jealous & protective and trying to toe the line of what’s acceptable as their current relationship allows and i LOVE her.

and when mulder walks in on phoebe kissing the husband — like literally how long has that been going on?? ridiculous. and why in the world does phoebe call for mulder when the room starts going up in flames? like bitch just get them all out of there. why does mulder have to tell any of them to get out lollll

it feels like three separate times mulder has to face fire in this episode. and it’s great that he gets to face up to it. failing the first time, acting the second time, his actual nightmare in the third. and he makes it through. he actually saves the children. not cecil, the arsonist. and not phoebe who’s been working the case.

i hate that cecil was right but scully is going to do what’s best for everyone even if she’s in danger. and at least phoebe does one thing right. so interesting that it’s actually she scully she helps when it’s required and with no hesitation. and then they all get to see cecil light up…he just keeps yelling for so long it’s crazy.

(in an accent) care to take me to lunch? (in her normal accent) scare you?

you have no idea.

where is phoebe?

i don’t know.

you don’t know. she didn’t call?

nope. she did messenger this to me last night, though.

did you play it?

no.

why not? aren’t you curious what’s on it?

ten to one, you can’t dance to it.

the way mulder repeats that line.

gillian getting to use her accent is my favorite. making scully good at a british accent is soooo good and i’m obsessed. wish she got to use it more!!!

scully writing the report. cecil l’ively should be getting a lot more attention ?! like he’s healing from burns that would have killed anyone else and is healing rapidly. and that’s all i have to say about the case lmao

[straysofthesierra]

It was a perfect, clear night. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the moon shone proudly, illuminating the way for the dogs of the valley as they gathered to celebrate the coming of another season. Despite the evening chill biting through his thin coat, Finch was practically bouncing on his paws as he approached Shale Lake with the rest of the Falls. The Fire Feast was his favorite time of the season, especially since he got to see his friends from the other packs.

He scanned the crowd with a whip of his head, then turned to his parents. “I’m gonna go look for Lake and Loon.”

“Alright, have fun!” his mother Starling replied. 

Without another word he turned and sped away. He carefully bobbed and weaved through the dogs all clumped together in groups, laughing and chatting and catching up with each other, but he didn’t see hide nor hair of Lake or Loon. Maybe they decided not to come to the feast this season? His tail dropped in disappointment. He was just about to turn around and head back to his family when something slammed into his side, nearly knocking him to the ground.

Loon laughed as he grunted under her sudden weight on his back. She nipped at his ear and he smirked in recognition, pulling himself out from under her and turning to face her as she wagged her tail at him. “What’s up, bird brain?” 

He matched her delight and reared up to ruffle the fluffy fur on her ears. “Not much, how about you, fish breath?”

They bounded around each other, growling playfully until Lake finally caught up and joined them.

“How are you guys,” Finch panted, sitting down to catch his breath.

“Glad to be done with the seasonal chores,” Lake grumbled, curling her lip in disgust. “I was stuck on fish cleaning duty. I’m never gonna get the smell out of my fur…” To illustrate her point, she bent over and gave her leg a few licks.

“Glad it wasn’t me!” Loon teased. 

“Ugh, yeah. I wanted to go on the hunting patrol but my dad said I’m not ready yet, so I got stuck on cleaning duty with Sparrow,” Finch grumbled.

At that, Loon became suddenly and uncharacteristically subdued. “Oh, speaking of Sparrow, I wanted to ask… did she, um, come to the feast tonight?”

“Um, yeah? Why?” Finch blinked at her, but then realized what she was getting at and rolled his eyes. “Oh good grief, are you still panting after her? I told you it wouldn’t work out, she’s not interested in dams.”

Loon stomped her paws. “I knoooooow! But hey, I can dream, can’t I?” She chuffed. “What about you? You’ve been chasing after that sire Rowan from the Shepherds since we started training!”

“Hey!”

Lake, who had been mostly quiet through their bickering, finally piped up. “Ugh, can you both put your tongues back in your mouths? Nobody cares!”

They paused and gave her twin glances of surprise and confusion. 

“Oh come on, don’t you have anybody you’re interested in?” Loon asked her.

“No, not really…?” Her ears pulled back as she suddenly became very self conscious. Courting and mates had been something she just… never really thought about. As her peers grew older and started noticing other dogs in that way, she would just watch in confusion, unable to relate. In truth, it sometimes made her feel a little bit alienated from the other trainees. Like there was something wrong with her. After all, everyone else seemed to get it. Why not her?

Her fears only seemed to be confirmed as an awkward silence fell over the trio. Finch and Loon were now staring at her like she’d grown three heads. She huddled in on herself and stared down at her paws. “Um, nevermind… Can we just talk about something else?”

Luckily, she was spared some embarrassment by the leads addressing everyone from the Council Rock.

“Welcome everyone. It’s wonderful to see you all again,” Dove, the lead of the Falls, began. “I trust you all had a productive end of season, but the time has come once again for us all to take a well deserved rest and celebrate the coming of another.”

She paused to allow a wave of celebratory howls to flow through the crowd.

When they died down she stepped back Cypress, the lead of the Forget-Me-Nots, stepped forward to continue, her pregnant belly swaying underneath her as she moved. “As usual, it is time to start the sparring matches. Any dogs who wish to participate, please make your way up here to the sparring pit!”

“Yes! I’ve been looking forward to this all season!” Finch bowed forward, tail wagging, and took off toward the shallow pit dug into the ground near the Council Rock.

“Wait-!”

Lake and Loon both rose to try and stop him, but it was too late. One moment he was bounding away, and the next he was stopped short by a muzzle full of fur as he ran into another dog.

“Oof!”

He stumbled a moment, then gave a little shake once he’d righted himself. “Oh my, I’m so sorry! I was just -  o-oh…”

“Woah, where’s the fire?” Rowan chuckled. 

But Finch’s tongue had turned to stone and he couldn’t respond. All he was able to do was stand there, hypnotized by the glow of Rowan’s golden eyes in the light of the bonfire. By the time his brain had finally caught up with him, the only thing he could think to say in response was, “Um. Over there?”

He grinned awkwardly at his bad attempt at a joke, but Rowan just frowned, the warm liquid gold of his eyes turning to fire and burning through Finch’s pelt. Behind them, Lake and Loon tried very unsuccessfully to hold back their laughter at the whole scene. Well, Lake was trying to hold herself back at least. Loon was just shamelessly guffawing, clearly taking great joy in Finch’s embarrassment.

Rowan moved back a few steps, his gaze flitting to and fro. “Riiiiiiiight… Well uh, gotta get to the sparring pit. Don’t wanna miss the matches! Happy season!” He gave a tight, toothy smile, trying to be polite, but as soon as he got the chance he turned and left.

“Heh, yeah! Happy season!” Finch tried to return his smile, but as soon as he started walking away it wilted. When he was far enough away to be out of earshot, he sank to the ground with a long, pathetic wine, crossing his legs over his face. 

Meanwhile Loon was still laughing away. “Well that was about as smooth as a porcupine’s behind,” she gasped out in between her chortles. 

“Oh shut up!”

“Oh come on, it wasn’t so bad. I thought it was kind of funny?” Lake tried, walking up to him and placing a supportive paw on his back. Finch, hearing the hint of a smirk still on her muzzle, peered out from under his paws to glare at her. 

“That’s it. It’s over. I can never show my face at the feast ever again. Just leave me here to die,” he moaned.

That made the two dams giggle.

“Come on, I thought you were gonna spar.” Loon nudged his side. “What if you get matched up with Rowan.”

Sparring with Rowan? Getting up close and personal? Feeling his thick, soft fur against him? The power of his muscular legs that he had only ever been able to admire from a distance? The thought made Finch’s ears burn. “If that happened I would actually die!”

“Come on!”

“Go on, you can do it!”

“Go get him!”

“Show him what you can do!”

Their encouragement managed to coax him out from under his paws, and a small smile onto his muzzle. They may poke and prod at each other, but that was just what friends did. And when push came to shove they really were wonderful friends. “Yeah, okay…”

He pushed himself up while they cheered, pressing themselves to his sides. The three of them trotted away like that toward the sparring pit, their steady presence filling Finch with newfound confidence. He straightened up, puffing out his chest and striding into the crowd.

The other trainees had better watch themselves, because this season, he had something to prove.

[carriagelamp]

My September has been... so much. So it has also been a month of audiobooks and almost exclusively rereading Terry Pratchett novels. So like… if you’ve never read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, consider this my loving recommendation because they are, as far as I’m concerned, the Ultimate Comfort Novels

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Through a set of treaties, humans and fairies live in two very separate worlds, divided by a magical wall that is meant to protect humans from the almost unimaginable power and cruelties of the fairies who had previously kept them as slaves. While hunting for meat to feed her family though, Feyre ends up killing a fairy and therefore breaks the treaty. To make amends, Feyre must either risk the lives of her entire family, or enter the fairy world with its hidden power struggles and strange conspiracies lurking just under the surface…

I honestly didn’t love ACOTAR the first time I read it, but I kept going because my friend swore up and down that I’d love the next book. And hot damn was she ever right, A Court Of Mist And Fury was phenomenal. The narrative pivot? The completely logical but unexpected twist on the beauty and the beast theme? An actual serious look at trauma and recovery? So good.

This was my first time rereading ACOTAR since finishing the series, and I’m shocked by the fact that knowing the entire series made Book 1 so much more enjoyable. Knowing everything that’s happening under the surface rather than taking it at face value as a rather trite, lacklustre romance novel makes it so much more compelling and the characters so much more sympathetic.

Going Postal

And so my desperate rereading of Discworld novels begins…

Moist is one of my favourite protagonists in the entire series (possibly only rivalled by Vimes) and I love his arc from the depths of my heart. The humour and satire is just completely on point through out.

Going Postal is the first Moist Von Lipwig book, in which Moist, a conman, is hung by the neck until dead. …Or nearly dead. The city’s dictator has his life spared on the condition that he accepts the position of Post Master General and revives the city’s dead postal service. It seems like it should be an easy job, until Moist realises how many people have already died in the attempt…

Making Money

The second Moist book, and oddly enough the very first Discworld book I ever read, when I found it in our middle school library. I think everyone’s first book is probably their favourite, and this one is certainly mine, I can read it over and over and over.

In this book Moist has found himself pressed into another industry in the city — this time into banking when he inherits an old woman’s dog and winds up with an entire, powerful, vicious family out for his blood.

Only You Can Save Mankind

One of Pratchett’s children novels. I really enjoy the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, and this book is honestly very impressive. It deals with some really complex, heavy topics (the main character goes to research the Geneva Convention at one point in the middle of the story in order to try to come to terms with what he’s witnessing) while wrapping it in a very fun, approachable story.

Johnny Maxwell really just wants to sit and blast some aliens in his new computer game; he’s not prepared for when the aliens suddenly surrender! Or when they request safe conduct, and Johnny finds himself obliged to keep these little creatures safe from all the other human players that want to slaughter them.

Secret Path

This is a graphic novel that tells the real life story of Chanie Wenjack, a First Nations child who was a victim of the Residential School System in the 1960s. It follows Chanie’s attempt to escape the institution and return home hundreds of kilometres away. 

Canadian Musician Gord Downey wrote a concept album called The Secret Path about the tragedy, and it was adapted into a graphic novel. It’s a very emotional, heavy read, especially with the music, but it’s well worth it. With National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day coming up, I highly recommend finding a copy, or watching the version they have uploaded on Youtube!

Thud!

More Discworld. One of the later books in Sam Vimes' arc, in which he tries to keep his city from dissolving into chaos as racial tension between the trolls and the dwarves continues to mount with the approach of Koom Valley Day, a day that marks an ancient war that exemplifies the hatred the two races have for each other. If that wasn't enough, they now have a dead dwarf, deep in the mines beneath the city, there's potential evidence pointing towards the trolls, and no one seems to be telling Vimes the truth, not about the murder, not about the hidden machinations, and not about the ancient evil that may or may not be lurking in the dark...

The Truth

More Discworld. William is another personal favourite of mine, I really love the newspaper trio, they’re such a bunch of chaotic assholes.

 William de Worde is just trying to live a simple life and get on doing a simple job. Estranged from his family, he uses his education to record some of the interesting events that happen in the city, and then sends out letters to various foreign dignitaries who pay to have these accounts made. Things change when he — quite literally — runs into a group of dwarves and their brand new printing engine with its moveable metal typeface. All of a sudden he finds that he’s accidentally started the city’s first newspaper and that there’s quite a few people who are profoundly unhappy to have someone sticking their nose into things in order to find the truth.

Unseen Academicals

More Discworld. This is a book that I feel doesn’t get the love it deserves. It’s technically a wizard book, as the wizards at the Unseen University suddenly find themselves obliged to participate in a game of football, but it feels much more like Nutt’s book imho. The story is partially about the modernization of football (soccer) and what it means to be a part of something — a community, a neighborhood, a team, the crush, the mob-think — but it’s also about the strange little creature, Nutt, who lives and works in the candle vats deep below the university and his efforts to accrue worth and knowledge and find away to fit in. Nutt, Trev, Glenda, and Juliette are such a lovable group, I really have a soft spot for them. 

Yarichin Bitch Club 1

…Oof. I read this because I had quite enjoyed another book by this mangaka (Neon Sign Amber) and my cousin suggested I try this. She billed it as “Ouran but horny” and like… she isn’t WRONG per se but also I was not prepared for what it actually is. It followed a lot of the yaoi tropes that I really don’t like and I spent the first book and a half really uncomfortable. I will admit that towards the end of book two things got a bit more interesting, and I may read the next one but like… I would not recommend this. Unless you want really undiluted and uncomfortable smut, there’s better options out there.

[fairestwriting]

Hello! Welcome to the twisted wonderland community! I really loved reading your head canons you have up 👏👏😍😍

Can I request headcannon with malleus, Vil, riddle, and rook with their s/o (feMC preferred but GN is okay too) in a soulmate Au? It doesn’t matter the type (red strings, words, etc) I just want them happy and loved 🥰

thanks so much!! im glad you enjoyed them ^_^<3 i’m doing a different soulmate au type for each one of them, i hope you like it!

Malleus Draconia

Lilia tells him about the red string of fate forever ago, when he was rather young, and since then, it’d never left his mind.

A part of him didn’t think he’d ever find his soulmate. It felt like just a silly little tale. He’s alone all the time, no one seems to truly want him anywhere, so how would he actually find his supposed soulmate? It just didn’t feel realistic.

How would he even feel when he met them, too? He’s heard all that whispering about it, people saying how it’s like electricity goes through your body the moment your eyes meet for the first time. As Malleus ages, he sort of just doesn’t believe that existed, having lived for so long without feeling anything like it, and he thought it was fine this way.

So you can imagine how floored he was when he was taking a stroll around Ramshackle Dorm, and he just happened to bump onto her.

Malleus knows not to show it, but it felt like seeing colors for the first time. Immediately, he feels his heart sink at the possibility that you’d be scared of him -- But he sees how your eyes gleam, knowing you’ve met the one.

Your introduction to each other is a little strange. Malleus is uneasy in a very unique way, he keeps his poise, but is very careful to not scare you off. He hesitates on giving you his name, but you tell him yours fearlessly as he helps you up after running into him, the feeling of your hand on his making him feel warm.

You’ll have to take it slow, he’ll want to follow at least some fae courting traditions to be sure he’s doing everything properly, but while he’s not ready to call you his yet, he’ll be happy to take you for night walks, holding your hand and watching your eyes sparkle as you talk about something you love. It’s really love at first sight for him.

Vil Schoenheit

It takes him a while to warm up even to the concept of soulmates itself.

Vil just doesn't like the idea of something that can't change with effort. What if his soulmate interfered with his work? Would he still have to be bound to them despite that, just because fate said so? He stares at the name on his wrist with narrow eyes. He's convinced he'll bend fate if he needs to, refusing to be with his so-called soulmate to continue his pursuit of beauty.

Still, he always feels this weird longing when looking at the name on his wrist. He wouldn't say it out loud but just your name makes him feel a little fuzzy, it sounds beautiful in his mind.

When you meet, he's busy as usual, it's VDC season, so he's setting up the application area with Rook in a classroom when you walk in with your friends who wanted to audition.

Oh, look, it's that girl people talked about. He doesn't think much of it at first, he should be leaving the classroom now, actually, to take care of something else, but then you introduce yourself as you talk to Rook, and the name he's thought about so much rings in his head.

He glances at you before he leaves, discreetly checks the name on his wrist just to confirm. It really is you, and he feels so strange about it -- Have you noticed who he was, too? What would you do about it?

Won't outright pursue you, again, he doesn't believe in fate very strongly, but he couldn't deny that he's interested. Whether you were there to perform or to support your friends who would, you two end up seeing each other a lot, and he's surprised to find that your presence feels so relaxing.

It'll take him a while, but Vil will end up learning that it's okay for him to just let things run their course this time. The more he learns about you, the more you feel like home. The day where you finally talk about being soulmates is happy and warm, and whether Vil confesses to you or you confess to him, he'll find himself being very glad he's finally met you.

Riddle Rosehearts

Having a timer on your arm means the constant awareness that as soon as its out, you’re meeting the person you’re meant to love. Riddle did think about it often as he grew up, but after he becomes Heartslabyul’s dorm head, he doesn’t think much about having a soulmate -- That is, until the first Unbirthday Party of his second year.

He’s walking around, making sure everything’s in place, when suddenly you walk in after the two new freshman, Ace and Deuce. He’d heard about you before, the first girl to attend NRC since forever. The second your eyes meet, he gets a strange feeling, instinctively knowing what it was about -- And he lifts up his sleeve, discreetly checking the time, to see it had ran out.

Riddle isn’t sure how to approach you. You might be sort of scared of him at this point, being the strict dorm leader that he was, and he does his best to keep his composure in front of other students. But because you’re often at Heartslabyul, he ends up having to see you a lot, and his heart races, he really wants to get to know you, despite everything. He wonders if you’ve noticed your timer ran out, too. 

Doesn’t bring up the fact that you’re soulmates until he gets to take you out on at least one date, though. He just wants to take it slow, romantic love feels sort of alien to him at first, but everything about you makes his heart melt. He plans out the confession, taking you out for tea that day, but ends up just blurting it out, face red and hand shaking as he holds the cup.

After that, early dating might be a little awkward, romantic love feels a bit alien to him. Riddle does his very best, though, and knowing you’re meant to be, he’s determined to make you the happiest girl in the world.

Rook Hunt

Being unable to see colors until you meet your fated pair is something a bit bothersome for life as a hunter, but Rook makes it work.

While he hasn’t met you, he finds the thought of having a one true love waiting for you somewhere quite exciting, and thinks about it often. What sort of person would she be? What are the things she loves? What does she look like? Questions about you are in his mind often. Regardless, he’s sure that no matter what their answers are, you’ll be the most beautiful person he’s ever laid his eyes on, inside and out.

You meet just outside the Pomefiore dorm, he's about to go outside and you were supposed to deliver some papers, neither of you paying attention to each other until suddenly, the world fills with color for you both.

Rook stops on his tracks. Finally, he's found you! His eyes are so wide, he'll walk up to you and gleefully introduce himself, if you've dropped the papers in shock, he'll pick them up for you and press a chaste kiss to your hand. Here he is, mademoiselle, your very own hunter of love.

He's so excited to meet you. From now on, he'll be around you all the time, determined to win your affections. It does take him a bit to actually fall in love with you, but for the whole time he really wants it to happen, he's happy to have met you, and he honestly feels warm inside at the thought of your presence being the thing that lets him see even more beauty in this world. It's just so magical to him.

[amorevolousfaith]

Chapter 25: The Return

Pairing: Din (Mando) Djarin X Reader

Rating: 18+ (MINORS BEGONE!)

Word Count: 2K

Warnings: Cannon violence, decapitation, adult language, mentions of kidnapping, Proselytism, Chaotic energy, lots of sexual tension, smut, sexism, consumption of alcohol, talks of polyamory, talks of drugging, fucked traditions, allusions to smut.

Summary: You and the Mandalorian have a complicated history and your future just seems to get more complicated as you go along. No thanks to the strange alien baby you both ended up co-parenting.

Taglist: @ranger-treaty

“For someone who was shunned by their home world you sure are excited to get back.” Din muses from his pilot seat, I glance up from the child in my lap. “Not everyone shunned me, my family would still welcome me home and I can bear with the others for a week or two until the heat cools off.” I smile, “Besides now I get to flaunt around the husband and child they never thought I'd have.” I add on with a vicious grin. “So I’m just a trophy husband, great.” Din grunts teasingly, “Believe it or not Din I wouldn’t be surprised if a few other women decided to throw themselves at you while we’re there. My people do marry more than one person, remember? And to have a big bad Mandalorian with one kid already walk into this tiny village is a golden ticket for these people.” I quip, running a finger over the child’s small hand as he grasps another.

“Would you even be okay with that?” He mumbles, “I grew up around it Din, if you wanted to marry another woman I would let you.” I answer softly. “But would you be okay with it?” He questions again, “Depends on the woman.” I shrug. Din pauses, “What if it's a man? What if you wanted to marry another person?” He wonders. A laugh slips through my lips before I could stop it, “Depends on the man too, but I’ve never had the urge to marry more than one person so I've never put any thought to it.” I hum. “Why so curious?” I muse, “Just want to know what I’m walking into.” He shrugs, “I think you should be more worried about what you're going to be pressured into.” I advise.

“Like?” He prompts, “Like a wedding and new life celebration.” I answer. “We’re already married.” Din argues, “Not by my father’s standards, he may have been lacks on me in regards to tradition but he always told me no matter who I married I had to do it at home.” I sigh out. “What would I have to do?” He questions, “It’s tradition that the man brings a courting gift but I can talk my father out of that, what you probably won’t like is the ceremony. The couple strips down to bare minimum, a way to display your tattoos to one another because those tattoos tell who you are. The only thing you could probably get away with is your underwear and helmet, you're also going to have to wear Mudhorn skin because that’s your signet. I’d have to wear a shawl of feathers.” I recall leaning further back into my seat.

“Doesn’t sound too bad.” He mumbles, “We’re probably gonna get drugged too.” I add. “What?” He gasps turning around to look at me, “Children are everything to these people Din. Marriage is the green light to start popping out as many as you can. There’s a plant that inhabits our planet that makes beasts go into a breeding frenzy. We harvest them and use it like an aphrodisiac drug when people get married or have trouble conceiving.” I explain, “And…We’re going to take it.” He mumbles. I shrug, “Not if you don’t want to, I’ll stop it before it happens.” I smile. “Will your father go easy on me if I do it?” He questions, “Given the fact you’ll have a few restrictions, yeah.” I nod. Din lets out a deep sigh, and nods.

“Tell me about the new life celebration.” He mumbles, “Its mostly for him.” I smile looking down on the child. “The event happens during the last month of pregnancy where the father will lead a hunt. Whatever he brings back will be used by the women to craft the child’s things like cradles, blankets, or toys.” I explain. “My father killed a large flying beast. He used it’s ribcage as my cradle that hung from the ceiling, the bedding was made of feathers and whatever was left made a pehr.” I describe.

“Sounds easy enough.” He hums, I snort at his answer, “Bold words coming from a man who gets ass kicked by almost every beast he runs into.” I tease. “I wouldn’t fail you Cayre.” He promises, “I don’t doubt you for a second, Cyar'ika.” I hum out blissfully.

I strap my blades to my back as Din loads his blaster, The child waiting impatiently at the door. He coos loudly from across the ship, Din sighs as I let go of a laugh, “We know Ad’ika. Just wait a few seconds longer.” I call back taking my blaster off its shelf before stuffing it into its holster. With the blaster in place I make my way over to the child and hoist him up into my arms, I grunt feeling him squirm to be put back down. “I can’t let you wander Páiste, You’ll be gobbled up by some beast before we even get a foot away from the ship.” I warn, thankfully the warning get’s through his stubborn little head and he stops moving. So much like Din I swear.

“You ready?” Din calls fingers hovering over the drop button, I nod, and Din drops the hull door. Carefully we walk out, the thick jungle forest creaking and croaking loudly. “Follow the path right there and whatever happens don’t step off the path.” I warn pressing my palm on his back. Din nods once before walking forward, the path is thin and barely open enough for Din to walk through without his armor touching the overgrown grass and leaves. “How come there’s so many heat signatures?” Din questions, “Because everything here is alive, more so than any other planet in the galaxy. The trees will eat you if it’s desperate enough. What you need to be looking for is no heat signatures.” I answer.

Din continues walking without any more questions, the walk seems longer than I remember but I suppose that can’t be helped. It takes at least an hour and a half for Din to pause looking up ahead, “There's a cool spot ahead,” He announces, “That must be the village. In large groups our kind doesn’t give off heat signatures.” I explain gently pressing my hand into his back to urge him forward. The child in my arms coos loudly at all the nature around us, his little hands pawing at the occasional leaf I will have to brush out of the way.

A few more minutes of walking and I see the path open up, Din’s pace slows significantly until he stops just before the opening. “You’ll be okay, If you can kick my ass no one here is going to be able to hold a candle to you.” I encourage with a roguish grin he can’t see. Din’s shoulder shook with a silent chuckle, but it’s just what he needed to take that last step out.

Inside the clearing huts lay scattered, some bigger than others, some have smoke pushing out of them, and few sit half finished. I smirk as the village seems to pause at the sight of Din, his shiny armor a sharp contrast to the dark jungle, it isn’t until I step out from behind him does things seem to pick up. A few people whisper to one another, as others drop what they’re doing to run elsewhere. I roll my eyes and take Din’s hand in mine, pulling him through the village ignoring the whispers and stares.

To the left side of the village, I pause in front of one of the many huts, my family’s hut. Din’s hand slips from mine and places itself on my lower back, a small comfort that does a lot. I swallow hard and knock on the door, it only takes a few seconds, but those few seconds are probably the longest of my life. My mother, thank the gods, is the one to open the door. “Hi…Mom.” I laugh weakly, the woman in front of me stops her eyes sharply moving from me, to the child, to Din, then back to me.

“Your back!” She exhales sharply, eyes glossing over with tears, “With company.” She then added with a small laugh. “Yeah, and some news.” I laugh, “Well don’t just stand outside! Come in!” She snaps hotly, moving out of the way to usher us inside. “Ionúin! Our daughter is home! With guests!” She yells out into the hut, I roll my eyes and let out a sigh. There’s a few thumps and a crash before low and behold Amon, comes rearing from around the corner. “Who the hell is that?” He spat, “Amon!” My mother screeches, but it doesn’t surprise me one bit.

“My husband,” I smirk, Amon’s eyes narrow in on Din, “I don’t believe you.” he scoffs. “Mando, Amon. Amon, Mando. Mando that is my second brother.” I quickly introduce, “And what’s that green thing in your arms?” Amon huffs, “My kid, say something about him and I’ll have Citaili swallow you whole.” I hiss. Amon’s eyes go wide before turning around and walking away. “Who is Citaili?” Din mumbles, “My beast.” I answer simply before moving deeper into the hut.  

Turning the corner I find my father sitting at the fire pit in the middle of the room. He glances up at us, before looking back down. I shuffle over and sit across from him Din takes a seat beside me, “Is it true?” He questions first. “By his law it is, I came back to do it our way.” I answer. I relax when I see a smile spread across his face, “Good.” He hums before standing. He makes the short walk over to us and Din stands when he approaches. I watch my father’s eyes scan Din, “A Mandalorian, hm?” He chuckles, “I never would have thought but now that I'm seeing it, I can’t believe I didn’t realize how good of a match you’d be sooner.” He laughs patting Din on the pauldron.

“Now this little beast,” He then turns to the child, who I let out of my arms to wander the hut, “He is what?” My father prompts. “Our foundling, child.” Din answers, “Did you make him?” My father grunts, “No.” Din answers shortly, “But he is ours.” Din declares sternly. My father nods his head again, “Then that’s all I need to know. I hope my daughter was wise enough to tell you what we expect here, what will need to happen for me to give my blessing. That being said, we'll start preparations immediately, I’m sure you have places to be.” My father grunts moving to sit down at the fire again.

“We have time.” Mando assures, “We’re…taking a vacation.” I smile, my father sent me a doubtful look but didn’t openly question it. “Your oldest brother built himself a hut not too far from here, to get some privacy, he said. But recently married the girl he got pregnant, so he built a new one. His mother is with him now making sure he doesn't do anthing stupid, so I'm sure you two can make use with that one.” My father huffs out while rubbing his forehead at the headache that is my eldest brother. A grin forms on my lips at the thought of teasing my older brother.

“My poor daughter, got more balls than most of the men in this village and not a single one of them has a big enough pair to marry her.” My father grunts, “What I want to know is how this came to be?” He muses. I spare a glance over to Din, surely he knows my father can’t know the full truth. “We got into a fight, I won, but then she saved me from being eaten by a beast.” He paraphrases, I smile at the answer, at least he isn’t lying. My father lets out a big bellied laugh, “Sounds believable. And you uh, married her already?” He questions more. “This is The Way.” He replies and I can’t help but to roll my eyes, “So it seems.” My father hums.

“Honey!” My mother sings, my eyes go wide to find her holding the child, who is stuffing his face full of the pastry my mother no doubt gave him. “I’ll gather some extra supplies for you, he’s a hungry little Páiste.” She coos out, the child cooing back cutely, milking my mother’s affection and food. “That, he is.” I muse glancing over to Din with a smile

<---- Prev. // Masterlist // Next---->

[ravennm84]

Marinette’s Family Court Circus

I got this idea from a post @unmaskedagain and decided to put my own little spin to it. It’s a bit sad and does have my usual Lila-Salt spin, but I really loved writing this. Warm-Fuzzies and please enjoy!!

The day of her greatest triumph was also her greatest tragedy. Hawkmoth had finally been defeated, the butterfly and peacock miraculous back in the miracle box where they belonged, and Paris was finally safe. 

However, when Gabriel Agreste was revealed to be the magical terrorist and his assistant, Nathalie, his accomplice, Adrien had been devastated. When the Paris police sought to find out the extent of Adrien's involvement, he had no choice but to reveal in a private interrogation room with only the mayor, Officer Roger, the chief of police, and Ladybug herself, his identity as Chat Noir. After which, Adrien said a tearful goodbye to Plagg and surrendered the ring of destruction to Ladybug. A press conference was held within an hour, absolving Adrien of any crimes in relation to his father, and his bodyguard would also be absolved four days later.

That night, after Ladybug had returned home and tearfully placed the ring, broch, and pin back in the miracle box; her parents and Grandma Gina had told her that they were going out to dinner to celebrate; Gina had even rented a car so they wouldn’t need to walk or take the subway. How Marinette wished that they had just gotten on the subway.

She woke up the following afternoon in the hospital. Apparently, her family weren’t the only people celebrating Hawkmoth’s defeat, and a car load of university students had celebrated too hard and T-boned their car while running a light. The doctors told her that her grandmother and father had died on impact and her mother passed away during surgery. Marinette had been extremely lucky to survive without any life threatening injuries; a broken leg, arm, collar bone, two cracked ribs, and a few lacerations across her body. 

She was hardly paying attention to what the doctors were saying. Too shocked by the whole situation. There was no Miraculous Cure that could fix this. In the span of a single day, she had defeated her enemy, saved Paris, lost her partner, lost her grandmother, and her parents. She was alone.

When her family’s lawyer, M. Contere came to talk about custody, it was revealed that her grandmother was supposed to take custody in the event of her parents' deaths. Her grandfather would have been the next logical choice, but he had recently suffered a stroke and had been placed in a nursing home. This left the lawyer scrambling to find someone to take the girl or risk having her surrendered to the city of Paris.

Going through the Dupain-Chengs’ contact list, M. Contere made phone calls to numbers listed as family friends or emergency contacts. There were three that particularly stood out to him, all listed under the title of ‘uncle’. 

The first was to an ‘Uncle J’; a woman answered the phone, introducing herself as Penny. When Contere told her it had to do with the Dupain-Chengs, the phone was handed to a man with a distinctly British accent. He sounded devastated to hear that Tom, Sabine, and Gina had all passed away before going into a panic and asking if Marinette was alright, showing absolute relief that she had survived the crash. When Contere mentioned the custody hearing, the man practically demanded to know the date, time, and place before promising that he would be there.

The second contact that stood out was labeled as ‘Uncle Tony’. That call was answered by an assistant named Jarvis before transferring the call to Tony. Again, Contere could hear the surprise and hurt at hearing that his friends had passed away before asking if Marinette had been in the car. When told that she had survived, there was relief and he mentioned that Peter would have probably cried for a week if he’d lost his childhood friend. Tony then offered to take custody of Marinette and Contere quickly told him the details.

Although M. Contere was relieved that at least two family friends/possible relatives seemed more than willing to take Marinette, he knew how fickle and difficult the courts could be and wanted as many options as possible for the girl, which led to the third contact labeled ‘Uncle Bruce’. 

The phone was answered by an older sounding gentleman named Alfred before transferring the call. Contere could hear multiple voices in the background, most sounding like young men, and when he told Bruce about the passing of Tom, Sabine, and Gina; it went very quiet for a moment before all the voices began speaking at once demanding to know what happened, who was responsible, and if Marinette was okay. M.Contere answered the questions that he could and told them that Marinette was in need of a legal guardian. Bruce said Gina had been a great friend and mentor to him when he was younger and that he would be honored to care for her granddaughter. So he told him the details of the court hearing with the promise that he would make sure that Marinette was taken care of until then.

After hanging up, M. Contere had a strange feeling that he couldn’t shake. A feeling that told him that those three ‘Uncles’ were either going to make his job of getting Marinette into a stable home a lot easier… or it would be a total nightmare.

~oOo~

The day of the hearing was a Monday and Marinette's case was the first on the docket, which was a relief. If things went smoothly, she could be placed with one of her respective uncles by the end of the week and be taken care of. When the two of them stepped into the room, with Marinette rolling beside him in her wheelchair, M. Contere was surprised to see multiple familiar faces in the courtroom that he had not expected. Jagged Stone, Bruce Wayne, and Tony Stark were glaring, arguing, and puffing out their chests at each other; ignoring everyone else in the room. He also noticed how each man seemed to have an entire team of lawyers backing them up.

The tension and glaring match only broke when the two women; Pepper Potts and Penny Rolling, and the four Wayne boys; Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damien, noticed Marinette’s arrival. 

“Marinette, sweetie, how are you feeling?” Penny asked as she walked away from Jagged to kneel beside Marinette’s wheelchair.

“Been better, but I’m glad to see some familiar faces,” she said with a weak smile.

Pepper leaned over a bit to give the girl a gentle hug while minding her injuries. “We’re here for you, Mari. No matter what.”

Then the four boys were almost surrounding her, offering to hunt down the people that took away their family and pile so many lawsuits on them that they’ll die of papercuts. This made her chuckle and grimace a bit from the pain, telling the boys that was sweet but unnecessary.

Jagged, Bruce, and Tony immediately put their argument on hold as they hurried over to check on the girl as well. Contere found it to be a good sign that Marinette seemed familiar with the three men, that they all asked how she was and if she wanted anything, as well as promising that they would take care of her. That last one, the three said at the same time and got them glaring at each other again. This caused Contere to sweat and Marinette to give her head a resigned shake.

What followed would probably go down as the most intense, well argued, and most headache-inducing case in the history of the Paris Family Court System with all three men vying for custody of the teenage girl. 

Being able to provide financial stability wasn’t a concern as Jagged Stone was currently the most successful rockstar in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas; while Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne were two of the wealthiest businessmen in the entire world. All three even offered to completely cover Marinette’s tuition to any school she wanted, so long as she was accepted.

Her safety turned out to be a large factor with all three men, and they were willing to hire their own private security to make sure that she stayed safe at all times. However, the three men also argued how the others lived in unsafe environments. 

Jagged mostly lived in tour buses and out of hotels, which was a factor; but he was willing to call off his tours during the school year and only go on tour during school breaks so Marinette would never be without her guardian. Penny was also willing to help Jagged at every turn, stating that she loved Marinette like a niece and would make sure that she had a strong female role model in her life as well.

Tony’s reputation as a playboy and his identity as Iron Man brought up the possibility of attracting a dangerous element. He argued that his homes were equipped with the most advanced security systems on the planet. As well as being friends with an actual “God-Alien”, who had met Marinette and liked her a great deal. Tony was also willing to make Marinette her own personal Iron Suit that would be programmed to protect and fly her to a safe location at the first sign of danger. Pepper also offered to share custody as she already took care of Tony’s daily life as his assistant, taking care of Marinette would be easy and she was looking forward to having her around.

Bruce’s residence in Gotham, the most crime ridden city in North America, was a big factor. Bruce made a point that he already had experience as a guardian of his three adopted sons and his biological son, and they were kept safe. That he also had a top of the line security system at his home, which was located outside of city limits. Dick, Jason, and Tim also commented that they thought of Marinette like a little sister and that Wayne Enterprises had locations all over the world. If the judge decided that Gotham was too dangerous, one of them would gladly take up residency in a city that the judge approved and would stay there to watch over Marinette while still working and providing for her.

After two hours of listening to the back and forth of the three men and their lawyers, the judge decided that he’d heard enough for the day and set the next meeting for the following Thursday after lunch. He also recommended that the men bring proof that they have the mental capability of caring for a teenage girl, lists of schools near their homes to show that she will continue her education, and character witnesses, if available. 

The three men wanted to take Marinette out to get something to eat after the court was adjourned, but M. Contere was forced to tell them that it would not be appropriate during the legal proceedings. He also recommended that they follow the judge’s instructions and make sure that they had everything needed, otherwise they would likely not qualify. Hearing that got all three men, their assistants, family, and lawyers moving at top speeds to get everything they needed for court in a few days. 

Once they were out of sight, the lawyer couldn’t help but let out a stress induced sigh as he raised one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. This custody battle had the potential to turn into a total circus, and although it could do great things for his career in the long run, he was more worried about how this would affect Marinette. 

Speaking of, he was brought from his thoughts when he felt her small hand gently pat the hand that was holding his briefcase. When he looked down at her, she gave him a kind, though slightly amused smile. “You had no idea about the can of worms you were opening when you made those phone calls, did you?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “How was I supposed to know that Uncle J, Uncle Tony, and Uncle Bruce would turn out to be three of the most influential men in the world? How does your family even know all of them?”

“Uncle Bruce was raised by the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth, after his parents died. Grandma Gina and Alfred were best friends when they were younger. After the Waynes died, Gina would go check on them in Gotham, she liked to brag that she helped get Bruce back out of his shell. Uncle Tony knew my parents back in university, he was a lot younger and smarter than the other students and you can guess that didn’t go over well with some of them. My parents looked out for him and they became friends, and even after he got busy when he took over the company, he always made time to be there for the big moments in our lives; my parents’ wedding, their baby shower, and when I was born. I’ve actually spent a few summers in Gotham and New York visiting them.”

“And Jagged Stone?”

“He’s the most recent of my honorary uncles. I’m his personal designer, but he got unofficially adopted into my family after the tv show that took place in my parents’ bakery. Uncle Jagged made a bread guitar and sang rock songs with my dad. Once the show was over, Mom invited him and Penny to stay for dinner. During the course of the night, Dad claimed him as a new little brother. Jagged was so happy that he started calling my parents big brother and big sister, and started calling me his niece. Since then, he’s come over at least once a month to just relax and be a family with us.”

M. Contere couldn’t help but smile at that. From the sound of it and what he had seen, all three men truly cared about this girl and were willing to bend over backwards for her. That was a good thing, but he still worried that a custody battle between these three men could go for a long time and possibly cause mental distress for Marinette. Although the final decision was ultimately up to the judge, he was allowed to make recommendations if they were in the best interests of the child. 

With that in mind, he knelt down beside Marinette. “You know the three of them and what they’re living situations are like better than I do. And even though you’re not 15 years old yet, I could petition the judge to factor your opinion. Which of them would you like to have guardian status?”

When Marinette gave him a knowing smile, he just knew that things might get more complicated.

~oOo~

It got a lot more complicated.

The media had caught wind of the custody battle, causing a giant crowd of paparazzi to stake out the courthouse to catch a glimpse of the rockstar, billionaire, and the self proclaimed “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” who was also a superhero. To their credit, the three only said that they were devastated by the loss of the Dupain-Chengs and wanted to do what was best for Marinette and left all the other questions at the door.

In the courtroom; all three men, as well as their assistants and Bruce’s boys, had done mental evaluations that their lawyers submitted to the judge. They also provided lists of different schools that Marinette was free to choose from; including public schools, private, and even schools that specialized in fashion. But the absolute kicker was the character witnesses.

Jagged Stone had brought other music stars, movie stars, and production mega stars that made Contere wonder for a moment if he’d accidentally walked into an award ceremony. Tony Stark had brought the Avengers, The Avengers, as his character witnesses. Contere wasn’t too proud to admit that he was a bit starstruck when Thor himself came over to great Marinette and complimented her on her ‘battle scars’, saying that they were a testament to her strength. If that wasn’t enough, Bruce brought multiple members of the Billionaire’s Club as character witnesses, many of whom had been suspected of being members of the Justice League. 

The judge looked just as surprised, though somewhat irritated, by the people crowding his courtroom. He quietly looked over the mental health evaluations that had been provided, as well as the lists of schools; finding that everything was in order and that any of them would have been wonderful guardians to the girl. He was tempted to call another recess and pick this back up the following week until Marinette’s lawyer raised his hand.

“If it would please the court,” the judge motioned for him to continue, “although Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is not yet of legal age to make a final decision on the matter of custody, I felt that she was old enough to state her opinion. We have discussed it over the past few days and I believe we came up with a proposal that will satisfy all parties involved while still being in the best interest of the child.” M. Contere presented the four copies of the proposal to the bailiff, who handed one to the judge, and the three lead lawyers.

The judge read the summary at the top before looking at the lawyer in surprise. “You’re proposing joint custody?”

“Yes, your honor. My client and I feel that due to the influence that these men hold, as you can see by the character witnesses that have come here to speak on their behalf, that this custody hearing could be drawn out for a long time, which could have mental repercussions on Marinette.” Contere didn’t miss the ‘you ain’t kidding’ roll of his eyes, or the looks of shame that the three men shared at the thought of hurting Marinette.

“Keeping that in mind, my client came up with an outline for a possible custody agreement. M. Stark would retain custody during school as he has listed one of the top fashion schools in America, which would further Marinette’s future career. The weekends would be spent with M. Wayne, as Wayne Enterprises has connections to the fashion industry and would be able to give her training to help her successfully run her own business. M. Stone would have custody during summer breaks, so Marinette may continue gaining experience as his personal designer, a position she has held for close to a year and has already earned her recognition in the industry.”

The judge grew quiet again as he contemplated the proposal and read over the details. He didn’t want to deal with these three powerful, and in a lot of ways eccentric, men for the next few months while attempting to figure out the best placement for the child. Nor did he want to deal with the media frenzy that this case had already brought on. If anything, this was likely the best option, if he could get the men to agree to the terms.

“Do you have any objections to this proposal?”

There was a moment of silence as the lawyers continued to look over the proposal and spoke to their clients. Jagged’s lawyer was the first to respond. “No, your honor. M. Stone believes that this would be best for Marinette, but we would like to add a clause that M. Stone be permitted to call and visit Mlle. Dupain-Cheng so long as it does not interfere with her school work.”

“My client would also like that clause added to the proposal, your honor,” said the Wayne lawyer. “As well as the clause that Messieurs Stone and Stark work together with M. Wayne in securing Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s safety. As previously stated, all three men could be considered high-priority targets and normally require bodyguards. M. Wayne has proposed that any potential bodyguard be vetted and approved by all parties involved before being hired.”

The judge looked to Stark’s lawyer. “And do you have any stipulations you would want to see added to the proposal?”

“Only that there be an open line of communication between Messieurs Stone, Wayne, and Stark at all times in reference to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s well being and any possible travel. As all three men are known to travel the world for business; there will be occasions for the child to travel as well. When this occurs, the other guardians should receive notice of the country, city, and address that she resides; so, in case of an emergency, they will be able to be present to assist and protect her.”

“My client has no objections to these clauses,” said Jagged’s lawyer.

“And you, M. Wayne?”

The Wayne lawyer nodded. “The clauses are more than reasonable and are in the best interest of Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Although I only speak for my client, I do not believe that I would be out of line to say that is the main focus of Messieurs Stone and Stark as well.”

The lawyers hid their relief when the judge nodded in agreement. “As the proposal was presented by the child and the three of you are in agreement, I’m scheduling a meeting in my chambers for next Tuesday to go over the finer details of the custodial agreement. I will allow your clients and one lawyer each to attend; this includes you and your client, M. Contere.”

“Yes, your honor.”

“And as for you, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Marinette’s head snapped up to meet the judge’s gaze. “It seems that you have gained three extremely powerful, influential, and in many ways crazy guardians. I don’t know if I should congratulate you or give you my sympathies. What I will do is wish you the best of luck and hope that you are prepared for the future. Court is adjourned.”

There was a hum of surprise and joy that spread through the courtroom as Jagged, Bruce, and Tony stepped up to each other and shook hands before approaching Marinette and M. Contere. 

“Of course, my niece would come up with a way to keep everyone happy, she’s so rock n’ roll that way.” Jagged beamed with pride as Tony and Bruce nodded in agreement.

“Would it be alright if all of us went to dinner to celebrate,” Bruce asked Contere, indicating the ‘all’ to be himself and his boys, Jagged and Penny, and Tony and Pepper; along with Marinette and Contere.

“So long as there’s no discussion of custody and everyone stays civil, I don’t see any harm in it.”

Everyone smiled in agreement while Pepper mentioned that she’d just finished making reservations for all eleven of them at a nice restaurant that had the best view of the Eiffel Tower.

As the others began filing out of the courtroom, Marinette patted his hand and gave him a sympathetic look. “You just opened your second can.”

M. Contere wasn’t sure about what she’d meant until after the meal was over and the waitress brought the check, and then watched as the three billionaires fought over it. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he only hoped that this would all be over on Tuesday and he could go back to his normal, boring cases.

[aftgficrec]

Dragon/Magical/mythical AU pretty please 🥺

There are just so many aus with magic, mythical creatures and fantasy out there! We’ve put a small collection together here, and you can find more in our previous recs as well as under our fantasy tag (see below). The fantasy tag is under AUs. - S

Also see...

supernatural compilation here (see top of post for further recs)

fantasy aus (with dragons!) here

HTTYD/Dragon!Andrew aus here

new/fave fantasy fics here

fave fantasy fics here

Neil as a fantasy creature here

andreil shapeshifters/soulmates/omegaverse here

long fae/magic aus here

magic/urban fantasy aus here

Neil with wings and lots of magic here

werewolf!Andrew here

fairy tale aus here

staff recs may 21 - mermay here

Greek mythology aus here

‘Spun Like Gold’ here

‘On Dragon's Wings (Under the Blue)’ here

‘Imp’ here

Of Smoke & Bone by wishbonetea [Rated M, 23905 words, incomplete, last updated Sept 21]

In general, Neil Josten managed to keep his two lives in balance. On the one hand, he was a nineteen year old art student in Prague with a part-time job in a mostly-normal coffee shop. On the other, he, Allison, and Renee worked for an inhuman creature, running errands in exchange for wishes. For the most part, these two lives rarely intersect. But it's fair to say that the Foxes bring their own brand of trouble, and Neil's two lives soon start to collide.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: recreational drug use

little ghost by redskiesandsailboats [Rated G, 5224 words, complete, 2021]

Everything comes with a price.

He should have known.

All of them should have.

But that’s the thing about hope.

Sometimes, if you let it grow past a spark, it’s so bright that it’s blinding.

Or: the one in which there is a quest with dubious guidelines, a ghost with an aversion to names, and a hero who never asked for any of this, but he keeps his promises anyways.

tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: implied/referenced murder

Our Liminal Souls by glowingbee [Rated E, 27352 words, incomplete, last updated July 21]

Neil Josten doesn't believe in Gods, ghosts, nor destiny. If there is anything he has come to believe from years of out running certain death is that, firstly, not even a perfect utopia can protect everyone and second that everyone dies alone. A born wizard with a need for adrenaline, Neil knows he can only protect himself by learning combat, languages, and magic by participating in academic tournaments that are intense physical, magical, and psychological tests that honor their lineages of magic and otherworldly-given powers.

A lapse in Neil's plans securing his passage to his next hideaway has him dumped onto the world-stage of collegiate magic tournaments after being contracted to a high-profile A1 tournament court shadowed by recent suspicious deaths and a secretive court. Neil runs the risk of his secrets finding him before he can even begin to make sense of his invisible ties to his new teammates' own pasts and deciphering strange dreams that haunt him of mother's last moments.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: blood

From The Ashes by tigerrlilyy [Not Rated, 4482 words, incomplete, last updated May 21]

After spending his entire life on the run, the death of Neil's mother throws him into a world where he's being hunted by dragons and a lot of people are wanting to see his blood spilled.

That is until he's whisked away to a special school for people just like him where he meets the beautiful asshole Andrew Minyard who seems to have a burning hatred for his existence the minute he steps foot in the school.

To top it all off? Andrew's a dragon. A dragon who wants him dead.

tw: violence, tw: minor character death, tw: blood, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced child abuse

Fang and Stake by darkbluebox [Rated T, 2658 words, complete, 2020]

For most hunters, it would have been a wet dream: his quarry beaten, bleeding, trapped and prone before him. He might as well have been holding a stake on a silver platter. If it had been any other vampire in the world, Andrew wouldn’t have hesitated to drive the splintering chunk of wood through his chest and be done with it.

Unfortunately, Neil wasn’t any other vampire.

tw: blood, tw: implied/referenced abuse

you hit me like a vision by paleromantic [Rated G, 2181 words, complete, 2019]

Andrew opened his mouth, closed it again. “Uh, who the fuck are you?”

The man blinked, and underneath him in the water Andrew swore that he saw something moving, a quick swish under the water every once in a while. He had auburn hair like red that had cooled in the pale spring sunshine to a duller brown, and when the sun caught it it turned to copper. “You can call me Neil if you’d like, I live around here.”

BITE by poetatertot [Rated M, 23338 words, incomplete, last updated Sept. 2019]

Nathaniel was terrified. A hulking mass, all bristling fur and slavering jaws, stood and stared back at him. It was greater than any man—greater than any raven-shifter he’d ever seen. It was massive.

“Fox,” he breathed.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced abuse

A Midsummer Night's Fib by NachtGraves [Rated G, 3620 words, complete, Andreil Week 2018]

Neil doesn’t know why he did it but Nicky wasn’t going to quit and Allison had her phone out with that plotting gleam in her eyes and Dan and Matt were looking at him in certain ways and he just blurt it out: “I’m going with Andrew.”

Ouroboros by ANEMONEXVI [Rated M, 34420 words, incomplete, last updated Nov 2018]

“I don’t have any desire to be part of a group of rebels who aid townspeople and give warmongering nations the metaphorical finger,” Neil stoked his words with distain, hoping to discourage the group into the short version of the conversation he knew they were trying to have.

...

With no time to grieve the violent death of his mother, Neil finds himself alone in an unforgiving land with a heavy target on his back. In his aimlessness he encounters a group of roguish crusaders, The Foxes. A team of misfits who attempt to work together to bring peace to nations or peoples in crisis. And they want to recruit Neil for his rumored illusory magic.

But Neil's magical lineage doesn't speak of subtlety and he can't afford to catch any unwanted attention.

A roughshod fantasy/magic/government intrigue/familial drama/torture/mental and physical healing/aliens/ saga

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: cannibalism, tw: blood/gore

what light tastes like by knoxxed (badmatch) [Rated T, 6516 words, complete, Aftg Exchange 2017]

Los Angeles is Jeremy Knox’s frown of concern whenever Jean pushes himself to the point of strain, the delighted grin when Jean surprises him. It’s cat fur being one more reason to stop wearing black.

Los Angeles is Jean never once being asked to confirm or deny who or what he is.

Los Angeles takes some getting used to.

(urban fantasy AU)

A Natural History of Dragons JereJean AU by @rhododendronbeware [tumblr, 2020]

- Jean Moreau only ever wanted to study dragons but instead he gets married off to Riko Moriyama to pay off his family’s debt.

Art

Demon Neil by EstaVS on deviantart

winged neil by @mistykaru [tumblr, 2021]

demon andrew by @mistykaru [tumblr, 2021]

[venusdeus]

Court of Kings - Chapter 1

Summary: Sent to a neighboring kingdom to secure an alliance, forced to give up your dreams and ambitions, disregarded as a means to an end. You however have no desire to fulfil their wishes. And neither does Oikawa.

Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x female reader

Genre: Fluff, comedy, angst, royalty au, arranged marriage au, enemies to lovers au (more like enemies to allies to friends to lovers), eventual smut?

Word count: 2700+

Warnings: All the characters are adults unless specified. This chapter is sfw. Minors do not interact.

Notes: Part 1 of a long series I’m planning to write. This is my first fic in this blog so I would greatly appreciate comments, follows and feedback!

Read Prologue first <...> Chapter 2

August 5th

The first messengers arrived when you were having afternoon tea with your literature instructor in the gardens of your summer residence, as your brother was practicing his sword skills not too far. A maid sent by your mother brought you the news of their negotiation a few hours later, accompanied by some of the strawberry macarons you loved so much.  

If it were up to you, you would refuse such a ridiculous offer even before it was brought to your attention. Now that they had a male heir to the throne however, there was no use of a girl that had no claim to become the future ruler, other than being sent to create diplomatic relations now that you were over twenty summers.

“Where do you think they are from?” your brother asked as he tried to dust off his clothes, quite tired from following the orders of his practice partner all day long.

“I wouldn’t know, I didn’t see any flags with them.” you continued as he looked disappointed “But they were wearing blue, so at least we know it's not from the south.”

He nodded; his eyes wide with worry “I am glad they are not sending you there.”

“No one is sending me anywhere yet Hiro.” you answered quite annoyed, turning your head sharply to glare at the boy.

It was not his fault per see but him being recognized as the heir has left you in an awkward situation for the past twelve years. You loved your brother dearly, unlike the distant relationship you had with your parents. It was not because you had the ambition to rule the kingdom either. Of course, it was unfair as you were the firstborn, and if not for what was between your legs, you would also have been the one to inherit the crown.

Even if that was so, you simply did not find it in yourself to become a leader. You, however, did wish to be able to shape your own future. One that did not involve fulfilling the selfish wishes of others.

“It would be awfully lonely without you.” he sighed, instantly making you feel guilty for sounding a little bit too harsh.

Hiro looked incredibly small for his age, standing there with his shoulders slouched, fingers flicking, a skinny and sickly kid since the day he was born. He took after your father with his dark hair and almost pitch-black eyes, but with your mother's facial features, a contrast to your own looks that bore no resemblance to any of them, another reason for your alienation from the rest of the family.

“And it would be awfully quiet without you.” you teased “Maybe then I would be able to read in peace.”

Several footsteps coming behind you silenced you both before Hiro could retort, cutting the joyful air and replacing it with a heavy feeling.

Your mother was a beautiful woman that much was true, but in a different way to that of her kids. The Queen had extremely sharp features and her painted lips always supported a displeased frown. She acted as her title suggested, prim and proper, she fit her role perfectly.

Renowned for her charm when she was younger, she did not lose much to the ages if not for the wrinkles next to her keen eyes and the white threads on her hair. Likewise, she was as smart as she was alluring. Coming from a family that lost their wealth a long time ago even though they still supported titles, no one would even dream of her being second to the sole ruler of their beloved country. She was a success-driven woman, which made her a threat in the eyes of many in the court, thus she was not given the right to make a decision when it came to the education of the heirs she produced. Although affectionate towards her kids first, she had no say on the time she had with them, causing their family ties to weaken, and mostly spent her time with foreign ambassadors. A responsibility entrusted upon her by her husband.

“I see you received my message.” she declared not looking at you directly “We will talk more about this after our guests leave. For now, I want both of you to go to your rooms and stay there until dinner.”

You could sense the irritation in her voice. It was not for her kids, however, as you could see the dark circles under her eyes, a sign of her losing sleep for the past few days.

“Won’t we meet our guests?” Hiro questioned before you could.

“It is not needed as they are only messengers.” the Queen answered shortly before continuing her walk towards the main hall, her maids trailing behind. “I will see you two in an hour.”

Leaving your brother behind, you decided to head down towards the observatory. You knew that you would get an earful from your maids later for not changing your garments for the dinner, but your head was filled with too many questions and negative possibilities to care about dresses. It was not as if you did not know that this day would come. It even took longer than expected if all things considered. Most in your position would be engaged before they even stopped using diapers. It was a more political alliance than anything else, decided by the respective kingdoms and the advisors.

You even saw the letters that were exchanged since last year with multiple seals supporting different coat of arms. The council of your father must have declined the offers before this. Not for your sake, at least you didn’t think it was, but for not suiting their taste. It was a big deal for the princess of a country, whether being the heir or not, to marry someone as it reassured the ties you would create.

The only positive thing that happened so far was the fact that you would not be sent to the south. The Southern Kingdom was placed across the sea and was an important trade partner to your own.

It was a wealthy country for sure, but also too grim and the people too wild. Other than the traded goods it wasn’t a traveller-friendly country. They kept to themselves and even though the only thing that separated the two port kingdoms was a narrow sea, they had a vastly different culture. These differences resulted in legends and the rumors about the country becoming more and more outrageous over time.

They called their men barbaric, only interested in hunt and the art of war. Their women proclaimed witches, quite beautiful unlike the stereotype, but worshippers of a different God. All just foolish rumors said your history instructor. He was a wise man that travelled a lot when he was younger and according to him these tales were nonsense. Their folk did not originate there but immigrated over a few centuries ago. He taught you that the people of the Southern Kingdom were that of culture and arts. They just did not like intruders. His words didn’t ease your or Hiro’s heart however as you were fed these tales since you were younger.

If you could find a way to escape from this responsibility you would. Yet, since the first time you sensed what was going on you were looking for an answer, just to be disappointed every time.

The dinner was cold and tasteless even though it was made from the best ingredients one could manage to find. “The lady that makes them must hate her occupation with a passion” claimed your brother when you were dismissed “I can’t understand how mother likes it.”

Once again, the King did not join you at the table. It was always the same excuse, politics, responsibilities. But you knew better. You knew why your parents did not share a bed anymore and you could see the looks women of the court gave to your father. It was not because the King was a good-looking man, quite the opposite in fact, but power attracted people.

You were fully grown now and even when you were younger, you knew what these actions indicated. You even had the most unfortunate memory of seeing one of them, who was not much older than you, leaving your father's chamber looking quite flushed. You would have not cared if only the woman did not give you a curtsy while supporting a smirk.

Lady Winna was her real name, daughter of a lord that was close to the King, nicknamed Lady Whore by you. And most of the time, she was the reason your father would skip the meals altogether only to receive a feast in his room later that night. Which was why you knew that you should never hope for a love match. If lucky you could maybe be friends with your future partner.

“She does not hate her job, she hates her life” you replied “Not that it would matter, she will leave soon. I heard she was pregnant with a lord’s child. A married one on top of that.”

Hiro gasped “What if someone were to hear you talking about these rumors” he exclaimed hitting your arm quite forcefully “you could be punished.”

“Don’t act as if you never say such stuff you little bridge troll. I know how you talk behind your instructors.” you mused rubbing the pain off. “And who will punish a princess I ask you? If not for mother or father?”

“Do I need to know what I should punish you for?”

Both you and Hiro jumped at the unexpected voice of the Queen, a gasp leaving your mouths. She was holding a box in her hand and her face was supporting a rare, serene expression.

“Nothing of importance.” replied Hiro quickly “We were just afraid of falling behind our studies.”

The Queen did not seem convinced as her eyes narrowed, but she had a small genuine smile on. “I see. Why don’t you go on ahead and start your nightly studies then? I need to talk to your sister privately in the meantime.”

Hiro let out a snort that he tried to cover with a cough. You are in trouble he mouthed before bowing to your mother and disappearing through the corridor.

“I would like you to know I was just repeating what the ladies in the court were saying. Not that I believe the rumors of course, it is quite indecent.” you tried to explain quickly but the Queen cut you with a shake of her head.

“That is not why I wanted to talk to you dear. It is however quite incident for a lady to talk that way you are right.” she sighed “Why don’t we talk in my study?”

You knew what was coming now, after all you could not remember the last time you had a conversation with your mother alone, the relaxed expression on her face, however, gave you hope. Maybe, you thought, they decided it was not time yet. Or maybe they did not like the offers that came through.

“Close the door, will you?” she asked walking towards the desk that stood before the bookshelves that covered the walls.

“Where are your attendants?” you questioned as you followed her inside “Is there something wrong?”

“I thought you would be more comfortable if it were just the two of us that’s all. I need to show you something.” She answered motioning towards the box she was holding. “It came this morning. For you of course. Go on, open it.”

The box itself was made from heavy oak, painted black with a family crest carved on top of it. The symbol looked familiar enough, but you could not concentrate enough to remember where you knew it from over the heavy beating of your heart. Opening it cautiously you took a sharp breath between your teeth, observing the contents.

Inside stood a tiara that was made from white gems shaped in intricate designs that you have not encountered before and in the middle stood an icy blue diamond so big that you could have sworn it must have cost the yearly earnings of a whole country.

“Not a ring.” You stated matter of factly “A very bold choice for a gift.”

“Indeed. But you cannot expect less from Seijoh.” Your mother replied with a cautious voice, almost as if she was calculating your reaction.

“Seijoh…” the box cluttered on the table as you let go of it abruptly “You are sending me up north? We waged war against them for years! Even before my grandfather! And now you are sending me there?”

You knew the country itself was wealthy enough and that it had a strong military presence. They had many allies within the countries that bordered yours as well.  But they also claimed right on your countries throne by sighting territorial dispute as well as a marriage between the two countries that produced no heir.

Now they were sending you there as a scapegoat. To secure his claim to the throne. And maybe even to theirs. An eye for an eye.

It took another week for your father to send a response and invite the Crown Prince and the King of Seijoh for a short visit before the decision was finalized and another two for them to arrive on the outskirts of your kingdom with their entourage behind.

As you sat in your suite biting your nails and waiting for their arrival, your maids were going in and out with different dresses in their hands looking for your approval. You on the other hand did not have the mental energy to entertain their ideas. It was bad enough that you had to attend a ball given in their honor that very evening, but you also had to be in the throne room soon enough to welcome them into the castle. Not to mention this would be the first time that you were to meet your possible future husband.

You heard of him before of course. How could you not when his reputation preceded him? A very cunning and ambitious young man, yet it was his looks that brought the most gossip. You heard his name whispered among the staff when they did not know you were listening and heard the ladies giggle when they mentioned the time that they spent in their court, with him.

It was enough to leave a sour taste in your mouth. Was it too much to ask that your future partner was a man of intelligence and few words? At least you would know that you could get along with him then. But a sharp and striking Casanova? They had to be jesting. That was the only possible explanation for this mockery.

As if your fathers’ ridiculous behaviors wasn’t enough now you had to entertain another man like him. It was pretty common for monarchs to take on other lovers, but you would not be embarrassed by a man you did not know in your own house, husband or not.

When you finally entered the throne room you could hear the commotion outside caused by non-other than the infamous man that was plaguing your thoughts for the past week. Your mother motioned you to hurry and take your place with a sudden turn of her chin just before the doors opened.

The rumors did not do him justice you thought as he strutted towards you and your family, your breath caught in your throat.

Oikawa Tooru was without a doubt the most beautiful man you ever laid eyes on.

He was beautiful alright.

And with his charming eyes staring straight at your own and his delicate hands placed on his sword, he looked ready to murder.

It might look like a filler episode, but I needed to give background and I love to build anticipation. Sorry not sorry? Reblogs are appreciated! And also this was not edited I posted it right after writing it so if you see any mistake let me know.

Disclaimer:  No portion of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission. I do not own the character of Oikawa Tooru. This is a work of fiction.

TAG LIST: Let me know if you want me to tag you.

@triskoof​ @sassyglassesbunny​ @m-a-r-i-a-s-b-l-o-g

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Freak of Nature.”

A continuation from yesterday. I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you enjoy the setup for some other stories I am planning on doing :)

Have a good day!

Breaking News

The Galaxy is left stunned after the events of late yesterday evening, when a single armed shooter appeared from the crowd and fired on UNSC leader and cultural icon Admiral Vir during a routine press conference given at UNSC headquarters Fort Harmony on the eastern Mericandian coast. Reports describe the event as happening midway through Admiral Vir’s address as the single, hooded female pushed through the crowd and drew a handgun on the Admiral firing once before fleeing into the crowd. She was apprehended by armed security agents only moments later as she tried to flee the scene. On scene witnesses report that an accompanying marine tackled Admiral Vir to the ground just as the shot was fired.

 In a statement made early this morning by Admiral Vir  he reports that, “Thanks to the brave actions of Corporal Angel Ramirez I am alive and unharmed.” Corporal Angel Ramirez is a decorated veteren of the UNSC deep space division and served his first tour aboard the UNSC Enterprise on its maiden voyage. Since then he has served under Admiral Vir on both the UNSC Harbinger and most recently the Omen distinguishing himself in combat during the Burg war and the Kree engagement. Our sources report that Corporal Ramirez was once an up and coming champion in the Mericandian winter Olympic ice skating team before joining the marines. 

Reports say that the corporal came out of surgery early this morning and is in stable but critical condition. 

The only question remains is who would attempt an assasination on such a beloved cultural icon. More on that with our crime reporter Jim Shaw.

Thank you, Emily, early this morning we received reports from Fort harmony officials that the name and identity of the shooter is 37 year old Adrea Halen member of a traditionalist leaning moderate group the Hunt Party, who have condemned Admiral Vir in the past for his support of legalizing extrial relationships. President Hunt, leader of the hunt Party and CEO of Hunt Metals said in a statement today. “Our party had nothing to do with Ms. Halen’s actions, while we disagree with Admiral Vir on some fundamentals of government, we would never attempt to silence him through violence. At the end of the day Admiral Vir has done far more good than he has bad and no man deserves to die due to his political views. What Ms halen has done is condemnable, and the party does not support her actions.”

Further comment was withheld until a later date. As of yet police have been unable to determine if she acted alone or with the assistance of the group. Police chief Henry Winzer added in his statement today, “Ms. Halen has not, as of yet, divulged her motives behind the shooting, however based on preliminary evidence of the scene it seems as if these were the actions of a woman acting alone. Detectives have been unable to find any correspondence between her and a third party and even her husband had been out of the country for the past few months.”

Her motive remains, as of yet, unknown. There is evidence of a radicalized political view since she did attempt and target Admiral Vir, and some of her personal social media content has been leaked to the public reporting her dissatisfaction with going the GA and her open disgust for extrial activities especially in regards her oldest son who was in a relationship with a Finnari before moving to Noctropolis. We have since been unable to contact him.

In the past Admiral Vir has been known as a great political proponent in favor of extrial relationships, and a non isolationist view having once said that, “Cooperation and companionship with the GA will be the bedrock of human expansion into space.” With the popularity of Admiral Vir as a cultural Icon, it can be said that his political views have been influential on the younger upcoming generations of today, while the older populace still remains wary of political involvement with extraterrestrial life. In oth-

Adam shut off the TV sinking back into one of the stiff plastic chairs that adorned the hospital waiting room. His eyes felt grainy and dry, and his head ached dully behind his eyes. Off in the corner of the room much of Ramirez’s family lay asleep on the plastic chairs including his father and otters who had arrived late last night. They had fallen asleep after a nurse ventured in a few hours to go to let them know that he was stable and alive. Adam himself had not been able to sleep thinking about his friend, replaying the moment over and over in his head wondering if there was something he could have done to prevent all of this from happening. But the more he thought the more he realized that it was probably unlikely. He might have been able to dive out of the way himself before the shot was fired, but Ramirez was already in motion before that.

He couldn’t have seen it coming, no one could have, and no one did.

Ramirez had just been the fastest.

He sunk back into his chair miserably and stared at the wall. There were no windows in this room, the guard detail had insisted upon it incase someone else tried for his life. It all seemed so strange to him. Why would anyone want to kill him? 

He knew the answer though, as much as he wanted to think he was just some nobody, he wasn’t anymore. He was… a political figure, someone who could influence what happened in the galaxy and there were plenty of people who weren’t bound to agree with him on a lot of things.

He just wondered why he hadn’t seen this coming sooner.

His implant buzzed, and he looked down to see that his mother was calling. Whoopse, she wasn’t going to be happy that she was just hearing about this over the news, but he knew he needed to talk to her. He stood and made his way into the hallway, where a protection detail eyed him hawkishly.

Closing the door behind him, so as not to disturb its sleeping occupants, he answered the call, speaking out loud as the implants in his throat and ear picked up the sound, “Hey, mom.” 

“Adam! Adam are you alright! I just saw the news.”

“Yeah, yea I’m ok.” He took a deep breath, “Sorry I didn’t call. It’s just been kinda hectic.”

“And you’re sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I mean, I feel like shit but no bullet wounds….” he trailed off 

There was silence for a moment, ‘I’m so sorry sweetheart, how is Ramirez?”

“Doctor’s haven’t given us all the details yet, but he's at least alive and survived surgery.”

“Thank goodness…. We owe that boy.”

“I know, mom…. I know.”

Just then he heard voices off down the hall and turned to see Dr. kill and Dr Katie approaching from the wings.

“Mom, I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you as soon as I can, Ok?”

“Ok.” 

She let him go and he hung up as the two doctors approached.

“How is he!”

They motioned him into the room and he followed just as Ramirez’s family members were waking up.

Adam hovered near the door not entirely sure if he was supposed to be there. Ramirez’s mother sat up, “Is h ok!”

Dr. Kati and Dr Krill glanced at Adam. Adam realized with Dr. patient confidentiality, and it being family, he probably wasn’t supposed to be here. He went to step outside, but Ramirez’s abuela waved him back.

Ramirez an Dr Katie nodded.

The little alien stepped forward towards the family, “I have both good and bad news.”

The group waited with bated breath.

“THe good news is that your son made it through surgery. He is stable and recovering in the ICU.” he glanced over at Katie, “The bullet went in through his back, through his right kidney and perforated some of his lower bowl. We were able to fix the tears but the kidney…. Was not salvageable.”

The family glanced back and forth between each other, “That…. That’s not so bad though. He has two….”

Krill shifted slightly, “Well that is the remarkable thing and also the bad news but…. Your son only had one kidney. We wouldn’t have noticed it were it not for our imaging, but it seems he has lived with this defect his entire life without complication.”

Dr. Katie Cut in just then, “Since he was born with the defect, his body compensated. The kidney that was destroyed was much larger than average…” She trailed off 

The family members looked between each other, “So…. So what does this mean.”

“We have him on dialysis right now, and he is going to need a kidney transplant.” Dr. Katie folded her hands, “There are a few options, there is always the possibility of getting him a donor kidney or equally possible and more…. Advisable would be to have a kidney grown for him using his own stem cells, that way we can grow him one like the one he lost considering there is no way for us to give him two. If he were to get a donor kidney, he would have to undergo chronic gene therapy to avoid medications that would leave him immunocompromised. However in that case he would need to be medically discharged. If we were to grow him a new kidney, he would be able to return to his post without being discharged, but the cost is…. Admittedly much higher.”

The family glanced between each other their faces pulled into grimaces.

Adam knew their financial situation. He had heard stories about Ramirez growing up and knew enough to know that his family had never been well off. They had been close, his childhood had been excellent, but they had never been rich. Affording either of those options was going to be a stretch.

“Well we will have to talk about-”

“I’ll pay for it.”

The entire room turned to look at him.

“You-”

“I said I will pay for it. With the settlement for the court case, I can pay for it. He saved my life this is the least I can do, Please…”

His pleading was so plaintive that the family could hardly say no. He did have a point as well. Instead, he received an enthusiastic hug from Ramirez’s younger sister who clasped her arms around him and nearly snapped him in half with her strength. She was an olympic boxer after all, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Thank you thank you thank you.” She repeated.

Dr. Katie looked at him with a pointed expression, but she didn’t need to ask. He intended to pay for every last cent of Ramirez’s treatment even if he had to fight his abuela for it. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d win against her, but he would damn sure try if it meant doing something fo his friend.

He owed him after all.

And even if he didn’t Ramirez was his best friend. This wasn’t about owing him, this was about doing anything for someone he cared about.

Dr. Krill shifted in his place, “We will get the equipment ready and start later this week. I…. would be honored to perform the operation. I will be upfront with you and say that I am the universe's foremost surgeon, but I would also be the first Alien to perform a transplant”

“I of course, you saved his life last night-”

They seemed almost in shock. Everything was being paid for and the universe most renowned surgeon was practically begging to do it.

The only way this could have been better is if their son hadn’t been shot in the first place.

***

The steady beeping of the machine echoed around the room. Adam sat with one ankle crossed over a knee looking down at his implant and absently reading through that day’s news report as a soft whirring came from the machine just to his right. He wasn’ technically supposed to be here, but the doctors had made an exception for him and the family. On the other side of that a glass tube was busy growing an extra kidney. There was security outside the door and a doctor came in every few minutes to check on the kidney, and the man to which the kidney belonged.

Adam scrolled dow.

There was a shifting just to his side, and with relief Adam looked up to find Ramirez stirring. The man tried to open his eyes but squinted against the light and groaned raising one IV tethered hand to block the light.

Adam leaned over resting a hand on his arm, “Hey you’re finally awake.”

Ramirez cracked an eye at him and groaned.

“Come on ya freak wake up.”

Ramirez closed his eyes again, “Why…. When I wake up do I have to see your ugly ass.

Adam snorted, “How sweet, freak.”

“Freak, have you looked at yourself lately.”

“At least I was born with all my kidneys.”

Ramirez opened his eyes and frowned, “What?”

Adam smiled slightly, “Turns out your dumbass has lived his entire life with only one kidney. Congratulations, you are a freak of nature.”

“No shit, really? I had no idea.”

“We know, anyway the bullet sort of ruined it, so you have to get a new one. He pointed across the room to the glass tube and its slowly growing kidney which was no bigger than a jellybean right at that moment.”

Ramirez looked and frowned, “Ew, gross… wait who's paying for that,because I don’t think the military covers transplants.”

“It's taken care of.”

“By who.”

“By someone.”

“Someone who.”

“Someone who would rather remain unnamed.”

Ramirez looked at him,”It’s you isn't it.”

Adam sighed, “You saved my life, so shut up and let me buy you a new kidney. I owe you that much at least.”

“Fne, fine.”

There was a pause between them.

“I….. thank you, for saving my-”

“Dude don’t get all sappy and shit on me ok. You would have done it for me.” Adam went quiet still wishing to thank his friend but knowing Ramirez would never accept i.

Ramirez shifted to look at him, “So, you know why they tried to kill you?”

Adam shrugged, “Not really, the lady who did it has some political affiliations who don't tend to agree with me, but that connection doesn't seem to fit completely. Either that or she blames me for making her son an extrial in which case….. That hardly makes sense either.” he shrugged, “Either way she isn’t talking, and now I can’t go anywhere without five to six bodyguards spilling out my ass.”

Ramirez snorted, eyes closing, breathing deeply.

“You feeling ok.”

“Yeah…. I’m alright, just tired.”

“Then go back to sleep ya big idiot. Maybe if you’re a good boy santa will leave a kidney under your pillow.”

Ramirez let off a weak huff, “Didn’t know santa was a black market organ dealer.”

“He is this christmas, now shut up and go to sleep.” Ramirez didn’t argue with him beyond that point, and fell back asleep just as a nurse ws coming to check on him.

Adam was relieved. 

Ramirez was, hopefully, going to be ok.

Though what remained were far more questions than there were answers. 

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

What if after the party Hawk decided to get revenge by sharing Demetri's secrets as well. Demetri's mom let's him in when he's not home and he finds his journal. What he wasn't expecting was all of the pages about he regrets saying all of those things and he's pretty sure he's in love with him

Oof ouch there goes my goddamn HEART I didn’t need it anyway

I can honestly totally see this happening though??? Like Hawk slipping into “Eli mode” the same way he does to fool the school counselor and using that to break into Demetri’s house because he’s counting on Demetri not being able to bear to tell his mom the full extent of how bad things have gotten with “good old Eli”...and Hawk’s absolutely right. The most Demetri has mentioned to his mom is that there’s been a “bit of tension” and “Eli and I have been arguing a lot.” So of course Hawk gleefully goes up to his room to find the most embarrassing dirt he can and get the most epic vengeance.

And, sure enough, there’s Demetri’s goddamn diary. Of course he would keep a diary, the lame fucking nerd. Who the hell even keeps diaries anymore??? And he reads it from the beginning, and realizing the first half or so is from when they were still best friends. It’s a lot of geek nonsense, rants about video games and Lord of the Rings and what have you, sometimes drawing parallels between scenes from his own life being harassed by Kyler and the plight of Middle Earth being ruled by Sauron. All typical nerdy Demetri. But...there’s also a lot about Eli. About some present he got for Eli that he’d been especially excited about. About how proud he was of Eli for winning that coding competition with him. About how frustrated he was that he couldn’t stand up for Eli more against the bullies. About how much he hated that Eli felt like he needed to constantly cover the scar above his lip. How grateful he really was to have Eli around because “at least someone will listen to my ingenious insight!!!”

And then comes the fateful school year everything changed. Hawk reads through Demetri’s confused delight at Miguel befriending them and seeming to genuinely enjoy having them both around. He reads through Demetri’s bafflement at the emergence of Hawk, and his barely-concealed terror that his best friend would decide he didn’t want someone like Demetri around anymore, now that more people liked him. He reads through Demetri’s concern at Eli’s anger slowly boiling up into something violent and unnerving. He reads through Demetri’s betrayal at Eli blowing him off after Demetri was assaulted by Kreese, and his worry at having his two best friends training with a man who has no issue beating up random high schoolers off the street. He reads through how lost Demetri was after Eli jumped him in the mall, desolate and spiraling and feeling like he’d never quite feel whole again. How broken Demetri had felt looking at Eli’s nearly-unconscious body on the food court floor. 

And then comes a long ramble about the latest season of Doctor Who, and--Hawk notes with an oddly painful twinge--how much Eli would love it. “He’s all about badassery now, he’d be SO into this if I could get him to watch it.” And then a long, giddy ramble about how maybe this is how he’s finally going to get through to Eli--how he’s going to get his Eli back. How he missed him so much he barely knows how to function anymore.

And then come the pages after that fateful party, the one where things almost went right and then everything went so very wrong. It’s just line after line of things to the gist of “Oh, god. I fucked up. I fucked up. I fucked up SO fucking bad. I’m a piece of shit.” Even after everything that’s happened between them, Eli feels himself getting...alarmed. Demetri is never this...concise. Or vulgar. He prides himself on being wordy and pretentious, and not having to curse to make a point. Now it’s like he can’t stop swearing, can’t stop repeating what a piece of shit he is. Which can really only mean he’s gotten so emotional and fallen so deep into devastation that it’s somehow temporarily overridden one of the most prominent parts of his personality.

The last line in the journal is “I never even fucking told him I’m in love with him. He’d fucking kill me if he knew. He’d be so disgusted. But I wish I’d said something anyways. Is that fucking stupid?” Hawk just...slams the journal shut and sits there for several minutes, having no clue what the fuck to do now.

Okay bUT IMAGINE THIS ISN’T EVEN AN AU AND HAWK ACTUALLY READS ALL THIS AND STILL HUNTS DOWN DEMETRI AT THE SCHOOL FIGHT AND LATER BREAKS HIS ARM, HOW UPSETTING WOULD THAT BE

The fucked part is I could SEE it, like this kid already projects all the “pussy nerd shit” he hates about himself onto poor Demetri, like imagine the internalized homophobia??? This kid who wants to seem like the most macho tough guy ALIVE must have??? And imagine he has/had a crush on Demetri and has been suppressing it like there’s no tomorrow and now oh god oh FUCK he has to be reminded of it??? And these feelings are just yet ANOTHER part of his past self that Hawk hates, and with the love Demetri feels for him...well, how could Demetri more PERFECTLY and COMPLETELY represent the “weak” parts of himself that Hawk now despises??? And Demetri becomes Hawk’s absolute prime target after that, because he HATES what he sees of his past self in Demetri and, most of all, he HATES that all of that is still there inside of him. By making a bitter enemy of Demetri, he figures, by alienating him and antagonizing him to the point where any connection they ever had or could ever have is completely broken, maybe he can finally be free of being that Weak-Ass Lame Gay Nerd that nobody liked and everybody mocked.

On a slightly happier note, maybe seeing that final journal entry is part of what spurred Hawk’s eventual change of heart. Like he’s just watching the destruction around him caused by the Cobra Kai kids, and remembers Johnny saying that Kreese doesn’t give a shit about him. And he just has this epiphany like “Demetri loves me.” (And he knows this has to be true, because he was never meant to see it. No reason for Demetri to lie in the privacy of his own journal. No manipulation or tricks here...not like what Kreese has learned how to pull.) “No one at Kreese’s Cobra Kai ever did.”

And he decides in that moment he’s going to fight for a person who loves him as he is, rather than a person who only likes the image that he made for himself to feel like he could be something other people respected. Hawk still doesn’t love the weaker parts of himself, the more vulnerable parts, the parts that people can easily jeer at and mock and use to make him feel awful about himself--but maybe if Demetri sees something worth loving, then Hawk eventually can, too.

[popculturebuffet]

Justice League: In Blackest Night Review: A Case Study in Why John Stewart is  Awesome

Hello my Green Lantern Corps and happy black history month! And happy 40th Anniversary Year to John Stewart. And let’s get this out of the way now not the one replaced by trevor noah who handed Tucker Carlson his ass on television and got his show canceled, please do it again John i’d be greatful, and has a weird obession with how Pizza should be. No i’m of course talking about the Green Lantern, the third from earth and the second to headline the book itself, John Stewart.  But to me.. he was my first Green Lantern and one that gave me a deep and abiding love of the Corps since all thanks to this very episode. It’s thanks to John I’m the green lantern loving nerd I am today and without him I probably wouldn’t of found Guy, Jessica, Simon, Alan, and Kyle not to mention got into the varoius other corps. It’s thanks to this episode I wanted to seek out these wonderful characters eventaully and in part why I got into JLI, one of my faviorite teams, among many ohter great things and books. 

So quite obviously both this episode, which I haven’t seen in probably a decade, and John have a great place in my heart. And thus it warms said heart to FINALLY see John getting the recogntion he deserves: he’s going to be one of the starring roles in the upcoming HBO Max series, he was on Scott Snyder’s justice league, and he’s now going to be headlniing the main Green Lantern book going forward under writer Geoffry Throne, who like me was VERY sick of the Hal Jordan show the Green Lantern franchise could become at times, and also like me gave out about it a LOT. The fact DC hired him despite a very public and easily accesable record of him slagging of their use of Hal instead of him ESPECAILLY in the new 52 reboot aka why Cyborg is in the Justice League movie as Geoff kinda shoved hal in there despite John being a more sensible pick and doing so not only shoving the Martain Manhunter, who this show also gave me a deep lasting love for, out of the team but forcing Cyborg onto the team despite fitting with the titans better and, AGAIN there being a black green lantern and given the New 52 kept the history of there being multiple lanterns, no reason Hal could’ve been SECOND instead other than DanDiDio’s bitchy habit of EVERYTHING WAS BETTER ON MY EARTH that poisoined the company for a good decade before recently. 

And yes I felt the need to rant about that, yes Green Lantern the animated series is still good mind you, I just got tired of bland white guy over “Really awesome, really layred especailly thanks to this series black guy”, “stubborn asshole white guy whose hilarious and has a heart underneath the layers of douchebag”, “creative and imaginative white guy who has as personality and really uses the ring in fun ways”, and more recently “A muslim superhero struggling with his past who’se also really energetic and fun and has an intresting family life” and “Latnix superheroine who struggles with anxiety and actually struggles with constructs and once she gets past that has very unique ones”. In other words, yeah I’m bitter because everyone else was more intresting than Hal, and it’s only in recent years with Jessica gaining promience and John regaining it that DC’s finally broke out of that and is actually using the intresting ones, and again without John I wouldn’t be a fan, so they had no real excuse to barely use him outside of the comics if at at all after a while. 

So yeah as you can tell by that rant and by how specific it got for each lantern, this is one of my faviorite franchises, as said this episode is responsible and so for Black History Month I felt i’d be a huge mistake on my part if I DIDN’T cover my boy John and this episode and see how it held up. The fact it’s his 40th anniversary wasn’t something I was aware of, but now I am, expect more Johncentric episodes from Justice League sprinkled throughout the year to celebrate one of my first and possibly best GL. 

Naturally before we get to the episode we have to get to the series itself. The series was launched as Batman Beyond was winding down. Bruce Timm wanted to keep the crew together, something I could empathize with since Owen Dennis and JG Quintel have ran into that same problem lately, with most of their crews drifting off during the gaps in production and Owen desperate to get the show renewed  before he lost everybody. A good crew isn’t had to find in animation but KEEPING them for multiple shows or seasons can be. And there was one project the fans wanted more than anything: The Justice League. After all BOTH Batman and Superman had had tons of guest stars, especailly the latter, with Batman having Zantana show up and Superman having the Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) and Aquaman all show up. There were seeds there.. but Timm was relcutant as he had trouble ballancing 2 or 3 heroes in a fight scene, wanting to keep them al lin focus so fans didn’t wonder where they were and they didnt’ have to cut back and forth, the idea of juggling 7 was daunting.  So as Beyond was finishing production a few things happened: The first is that they did the episode The Call, focusing on a future version of the League, and while only a two parter, it showed Timm his crew might be able to juggle a team of heroes after all, and second was the pitches Timm made BEFORE justice league. Since Kids WB had been hteir partner for a while now they tried pitching both a batman anime, he did not provide many details, and in his own words a “Kidified” justice league, basically the justice leagued mashed with the titans including a female version of cyborg. It was the latter pitch, which was rejected by Kids WB, that finally convinced Timm they could do this, but if they did it couldn’t be half assed or having compromises. it had to be what it SHOULD be. So they went to somewhere new, if in the same family and asked cartoon network, who said...

And here we are. They took their time to work out the characters, apparently taking a lot of delbiration, mostly on which GL to go with, and if they were going to do a hawk wether to go for hawkman or hawkgirl. In the end the roster was the iconic big 7 one, in large part thanks to Grant Morrison taking that concept and reviving it in his run on the team, but shaking it up slightly: Barry was naturally replaced with Wally West flash as he was THE flash in the comics, gave a slightly younger member for the others to play off of, and was more popular.. something Dan DiDio plugged his ears and went LALALALALALAL about for a decade before FINALLY leaving the company so he could stop screwing with a character he hated for reasons that can be summed up as ‘MY FLASH IS BETTER. YOU’LL LIKE MY FLASH.. YOU’LL SEE I JUST HAVE TO MAKE THE OTHER ONE A MASS MURDERER.. THAT’LL SHOW YOU FOR NOT LIKING WHAT I LIKE”... I still have maybe a smidge of lingering issues over how wally was treated the last few years after his return. I do not apologize for htem or for doing a little dance when I found out Didio was gone. 

Point is it wasn’t the only subsitution as Hal Jordan was replaced by John, obviously and rather than use Aquaman, they went with Hawkgirl, though Arthur still got an episode focusing on him fairly early into the series which has the iconic moment of him cutting his hand off to save his son. I dare you to find something more badass. Bruce both liked her deisgn better and felt it helped with the gender ballance. 

So with all that set and with some growing pains to get through they had their show so join me under the cut to see how it turned out. Spoilers: It good. 

We open INNNNNN SPACCCEEEEEEE, as a coaltion of neat looking aliens wants justice and has gone to a space court lead by three weird alien faces, likely inspiried by the kryptoian tribunal in the donnerverse superman movies, with their prosecutor sending a group of mysterious robots known as the Manhunters to go fetch the accused for a trial: John Stewart. Given he’s voiced by Kurtwood “Red Forman” Smith, i’m very surpised he didn’t order them to also put their foots up his ass. Maybe he’s saving it for the trial.

After the titles we cut to John himself whose in shades and trenchant for reasons.. I mean it looks neat, but he’s in his old neighborhood not hunting down his exes killer or trying to hide the fact he’s a ninja turtle. Why is he all disguised. I mean sure WE know people are coming from him and given what he thinks he did he knows.. but he has no intention of running from what he did. It’s just a weird stylistic choice. That said we do get a cool sequence when while casually walking he notices a robbery, and stops it simply by first stopping the wheel then levitating the car.. and while he does get a little showy shaking the guy upside down to return the money.. it’s all very controlled. It shows off how John works. While we’ve seen him at work as Green Lantern before this this small sequence says volumes about john in the span of a few minutes, showing that shilw he HAS immense power, he only uses the amount he needs, knows when to hold back, and only shows off a tiny bit, and even then he’s likely still keeping the theif absolutely safe. It also provides excellent foreshadowing for later as to why the League takes his side even when he refuses to defend himself, as it shows that John really is a professional true and true.

He runs by a basketball court and fails to make a basket when throwing a ball back to a kid before meeting his old gym teacher, who turns out to be the kids uncle or something like that, and invites John to join them as they go to the barber shop. The kid wants John’s haircut, his granpa says the usual and i’m wondering why as John’s haircut isn’t that radical: it’s a miltiary style cut, belying the fact that for this series, while it dosen’t come up in the plot here, John was a former marine instead of an architect. Honestly.. this wasn’t a bad change, giving us the deciated and measured john we know, to the point the comics gladly retconned it in. Not that it’s really a huge deal given it meelrly adds shades to the guy and dosen’t prevent him from being an architect. It just adds lairs by giving a reaosn he’s so focused and driven. He had it drilled into him and carried it with him. 

Meanwhile on the watchtower The Flash clumisly tries to get to know Hawkgirl better and maunver into asking her out, though it’s clear sh’es not intrested. Still even if he can’t help flirting, and it sometimes gets creepily obnoxious, it’s still better than I expected remembering this running subplot, as he DOES try to get to know her and what she does in her off time, even if it’s to set up asking her out, and is trying to ask her out instead of just hitting on her or doing anything far more creeptacular. It’s still not great mind you and hasn’t aged well at all.. but for the time it’s not TERRIBLE and again it goes away pretty quickly in favor of the much more intresting John and Shierya relationship. 

Flash accidently shoots himself in the foot.. conversationally though given how Wally is at this point in the series I wouldn’t be suprised, by asking the Martian Manhunter, who gives Hakwgirl an easy exit if he’s ever felt alone.. you know the guy whose entire race including his wife and child died horribly. He quickly apologizes though and John understands he just stuck his foot in his mouth at lighting speed. And it’s not the MOST insensitive he’s been about Jonn’s dead wife. 

But things are soon interupted as Jonn notes “We have an incursion!” 

But the Avengers are dealing with all of that so they can instead focus on the Manhunters shooting toward earth. I really like this as the primary reason Batman set up this station was to monitor for alien threats, it just because the Leagues base because superman had the idea to stay as a team and it was a good un, and given earth JUST had an invasion, as this likely isn’t too long after that given it’s only the second set of episodes, it’s understandable they’d  be on high alert. 

So our heroes move to intercept. As the first episode after the pilot this one also sets up a recurring part of the show and a necessary one: only a handful of Leaguers would feature in each two-parter, as the episodes for the first two seasons were essentially one hourlong story split into two episodes. The only exceptions were the three part premire, the three part finales for each season, and the sole solo episode comfort and joy which is fucking awesome and my faviorite christmas episode period. But even with the extended run time the crew simply felt i’td be unwiedly to juggle 7 characters eveyr episode, feeling it’d eventually get to original series star trek leevels of having one just manning a console or something. So rather than try and cram them all into every episode, they choose who they needed and gave valid excuses for the rest when necessary. In this case Batman and Wonder Woman have solo missions their busy with , as does Superman whose adressing an earthquake.  Our heroes try talking to the Manhunters.. who refuse to talk to them and then also say their coming for John, and aren’t explaning why. So naturally a brawl breaks out as the League SHOCKINGLY dosen’t want their friend who as far as they know has done nothing wrong taken by a brutish paramilitary force who won’t actual talk to the citzens their policing or try and be coporative. More on this in a second. The fight itself is pretty awesome as our heroes fight as evenly as they can.. but it’s clear their outgunned outplanned outnumbered and outmanned, as while their you know the justice league and do their best and Jonn is in Superman’s weight class the battle makes it VERY clear their barely holding in there and that the blast from the manhunters rods are just too potent for them to stand up against. 

But help and hope arrives and things get a bit less lopsided when Superman shows up! Unfortunately it’s season 1 superman, and something a lot of fans noticed but I as a kid didn’t and the crew themslves did not until it was too late to course correct for the season, was that Superman came off as a bit of a wimp in this series. See they had the good intention of having him struck down to show a threat’s serious, something TV Tropes calls the “The Worf effect” after the fact that Worf on Star Trek TNG would get knocked on his ass a lot for the same reason, but it has the side effect of making a character look like their made of paper mache if done too often. To the crew’s credit they realized this and not only made sure this didn’t happen as much in season 2, but dedicated the first episode of Season 2, twilight, to showing Superman as a badass by having him try and cave Darkseid’s skull in. Granted they overcompensated in places in that episode, but that’s a story for another day. Point is he had a habit of getting knocked around and it varied between really effective and overselling it. Here it works as the manhunters had already knocked Jonn around a bit, knocking him into some poor kid’s apartment whose really wondering what the fuck just happened too much to enjoy meeting the martian manhunter, so him  not being too on top of them simply sells this threat is equal, and possibly past the League. 

Meanwhile John is talking to his former teacher who says the kid reminds him of John... it’s not only a nice bit of depth to show the restrained John used to be a bit of a hellraiser before the Marines.. but also shows John’s guilt as he hopes not.. but before he can unload, he notices the fight and suits up to his old mentors shock and the kids joy, I mean I would too if a guy suddenly because a green lantern in front of me, and dashes off.. to surrender and break up the fight, handing over his ring and going with them and telling the League not to interfere. Their response can be summed up thusly. 

To John, he’s peacefully surrendering for a crime he comitted to a bruitsh and unfair police force but one who is duly deputized and as an officer himself, for the unaware the Green Lanterns are space cops and given the reason rightfuly reconing on the police I will certainly be discussing this as we go, is trying to coparate and prevent any collateral. While LIKELY Bruce pays for any that happens, as beneath his batdick demanour at times he’s a very good man and if he has the pockets for a space station, space craft, commuincators and all the good stuff a superhero team has on hand, he probably has a dedicated fund set up to paying for collateral since insurance might not cover it, and not only that would likely give any impacted extra to do any upgrades they coudln’t before because he’s a philanorphist .. one who dresses up like a bat to punch people in the face, but that itself is still philathophy in a way. 

But to the League? Their friend was taken by a bunch of shady paramilitary robots who didn’t bother talking to them, is trying to keep them out of it and for all they know only surrendered to prevent a fight, and even if he had valid reasons, as his friends-ish and teammates, they have a right to answers. So while John sits in his cell completlating his apparent crimes.. the JL have taken off in the Javelin, the spaceship I mentioned batman funding. And of course Batman has both spaceship money and had a design for one so ready it likely took a month at most for him to get it up and running, if not less, and only didn’t have one in the batcave because he hadn’t neededed it yet and likely didn’t want to embezle more money than he has to from his company. Jonn uses the stars John saw, say that three times fast I dare you, to find a location and our heroes head there.  Our heroes arrive.. and are attacked by the local security despite Superman geninely trying to hail them, the Javelin not firing back and our heros only going out to intercpet personally so they don’t die, and even then making careful certainty not to attack. So we get another thrilling battle, with our three flying heroes all pitching in, and the flash realizing he dosen’t know how to fly the thing and me cursing out bruce in my head for you know, not either forcing flash to learn the stuff, or having the forsight to put a manual on board for any members who forgot something, aka so when Wally inteivibly goofs off and eats candy instead of reading it the first time, he can speed read it and at least retain it long enough to land the thing in a crisis. If it were anyone else i’d be understanding but this is the guy who again, either had spaceship plans lying around or could get one together in the span of a month or so and while not thinking of the ship in terms of a team, still also paid for and likely created the commuincators they used, so he’d know his team well enough to know he needs this. 

My nitpicking aside, our heroes land, make quick work of the locals, and then crash in on John’s trial after he’s escorted in, passing his fellow lanterns who rightfully treat him with disdain.. but for the wrong reasons as we’ll see. John gives  groaning “oh no” , like he’s embarassed. When REALLY..

Seriously John, again you were as far as they knew kidnapped, and the way the manhunters acted, they had no reason to think they were legitamate, and you didn’t take five minutes to tell them, “They have every reason to be takning me” or “I blew up a planet I deserve this” . They still would’ve came mind you, they just might of realized this wasn’t a traditional rescue mission and actually tried to use some subtly. You also COULD have told the manhunters they might show up so the security wouldn’t attack them. They probably woudln’t o LISTEND or attacked themselves, so i’ts a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation, but you still did absolutely nothing. It’s the one mistep with John here and even then it has the justification of his self loathing at the moment being so high, he assumed they’d rightfully write him off without question.. not to mention given the team is mostly white guys, two aliens and a princess who woudln’t know better, he probably assumed like most white dumbasses they’d assume the police were correct and not give him the benifit of a doubt. To their credit, especially since you know one of them’s superman and the other one’s a professional dumbass, they didn’t think that for a second. Some would not be such a good person. 

But Prosecutor Forman and the big giant heads aren’t much better than the manhunters, so Prosecutor Forman sends some orange guys to put foots up their asses.. and since unlike the manhunters their just... some ambigiously gendered aliens with no powers, they go down quick and before the manhunters enter, superman RIGHTFULLY calls them out, as he points out they just wanted to know what the hell was going on, didn’t throw the first punch, and have been under attack since, and the heads admit this IS a public trial, and they kinda overreacted so as long as the superfriends don’t do any other antics and watch like anyone else, their good. Superman has his team play it safe for now as they really don’t know what’s going on and given they could only stalemate the manhunters on even footing, they know they can’t take them on their home turf.  

The trial is soon underway, and Prosecutor Forman calls the witnsees.. Kanjar Ro, also voiced by Smith. This is neat little bit as Ro was one of the first foes the League fought in the comics, a space pirate, and while he originally was just going to be some random asshole, someone brought up the idea of him being Ro and the crew really loved it. It’s a nice nod to the comics and honestly if you have a vast superhero universe with decades of continuity to draw from for your show, why NOT make the secondary villian of the episode be someone from the comics. 

Ro is, like the comics, a pirate and seemingly came forward because what John did was so bad even he can’t stomach it and has to say something. So we FINALLY find out what John did.. well okay the audience as a whole does I remember this from being a kid. He and Ro had a routine cop and robber interaction, Ro was smuggling shit, and John was doing his job as GL of Sector 2814 and stopping him and cut out his engine.. but seemingly said engine drifted off, and destroyed a planet as  result via chain reaction, and thus the debris right outside the planet John’s being tried on are apparently thsoe of the planet he accidently killed. The court takes a break and while the League, understandably, assume that the obviously shady man was lying John ends part one by confirming that no he did it. And this is why I put a pin in things... because the episode being about a space cop being arrested by worse space cops and dealing with his friends in the badge turning on him while some of his other friends try to prove he’s innocent, and the man in question being an african american... tackles some very loaded issues that, givent he writer and most of the staff, Dwayne McDuffie accepted, were very much white, i’m thinking they just kind of fell backward into and it only came out as good as it did either do to McDuffie or just blind luck that it didn’t turn out entirely awful in hindsight.

And if anyone is complaning: “Wait you dont’ need to get political leave politics out of this”.. please leave my fucking blog. For one, the recknoing with the police was long overdue, I feel ashamed for not having it sink in how fundementally broken the police were and not realizing it for my whole fucking life, I knew some cops were bad but I hadn’t realized the institution was inherently racist and bad  and feel so much deep and lasting shame for that, and for another again it’s a story that at it’s core is a black police officer being arrested for doing something wrong, taking full responsiblity for his actions like a police officer SHOULD, and having friends of his try and prove he didn’t really do it, while his fellow officers, rather than find the act itself abohhrent, come out as either being loyal to john no matter what (kilowog) because fellow officer, or assholes who ONLY are upset because it makes them look bad, and are ONLY distancing themselves because of that, and not because you know JOHN MAY OF CAUSED A GENOCIDE BY INCOMPETNECE. So yeah, i’m not ignoring the real world implications, I couldn’t and wouldn’t if I wanted to, and i feel if done right ANY medium, animation, comics, what have you, for kids or not, can tackle such issues and should be able to. 

So i’m not ignoring the elephant in the room, and as we get into part 2 we get the good and bad of this in full: Superman feels something’s off about this whole thing, a hunch admitely but given an engine falling in a crater seems a bit too convinent, he has a right to investigate and takes MM to do so, while he leaves Flash and Hakwgirl to stall. Both take diffrent approaches: Flash signs on as GL’s lawyer.. and it’s an awesome scene as we find out, in your standard evil lawyer joke, that the tribunal of faces solved this by simply having the lawyer share the punishment.. but it also shows Flash’s loyalty and faith that his friend did not do this and something worse is at work, as he still agrees after learning he’ll probably die if his other friends don’t fix this. 

And now we have full context i can get into where this episode really does the issue justice for the most part: John is presented as the model of both what the GL Corps and what police should be: He’s professional, uses minimal force despite having a weapon that can do anything, and when he THINKS he did something horrible, he dosen’t run from his crime: the most he does is go back home to see it once last time, simply waiting for someone to come and get him for what it did wether it be his own brothers in arms or as we saw the manhunters and he doesn’t defend himself because he dosen’t feel he should as he screwed up, got an entire planet killed, and rightly thinks he should pay for it. He’s likely, as a black man in the early 2000′s, been falsely accused, pulueld over and fucked over by police and seen people in his community he knewe and care about die because of shit like this so when given the chance to take responsibility, even from a clearly broken system, he does. Because in the same situation a lot of officers back at home would not and would walk away clean and that’s not who John Stewart is, how he was raised, or what he or the corps stands for. 

But the episode gets to have it’s cake and eat it too, as the League does belivie John didn’t do this on purpose.. and the blind faith they especially superman did come off as wince inducing.. until I realized it’s not because of some “brotherhood of the badge” bullshit.. but because it’s Superman. He belivies in the good of most people. In this very series despite Lex Luthor having tried to kill him dozens of times at this point, he STILL shows the guy empathy when he finds out Lex is dying of cancer. Lex spits at the notion of course and dosen’t take it seroiusly.. but Superman is just that good a person, so if he has a hunch somethings’ wrong.. it probably is. And even if he and Jonn found nothing... it’s the right thing to do. A crime should ALWAYS be properly investigated to make sure someone dosen’t hang for something they did not do. This is what I meant by have it’s cake and eat it too: the episode tackles police brutality.. but the accused is also the victim, and it thus tackles the unfairness in the us courts, how black people are often assumed guilty when that’s horribly racist and biased as fuck and how Police are assumed correct. Our heroes are assuming john is right based on optisim but are not wrong for wanting him to at LEAST get a fair trial and full investigation that clearly was not done. It also covers, again probably intetioanlly, how some are often not able to get proper representatin, with this court outright getting rid of it, which is wrong and bad, and the flash being the best John can do and not very good at it, mostly stalling for time. It shows the system’s brokena nd soemtimes you have to directly fight iht and can’t just take it , and even if your convinced your guilty and want to rightfuly take the blame for something your sure you did... you still deserve a fair trial and a compitent one. 

It’s not all good: as said the gl’s are portrayed as bad for not wanting anything to do with john, and in order to make them unsympathetic they care more about their rep than the fact a friend may of comited genocide and kilowog showing up and providing character witness is seen as a good thing, even if he provides no actual character evidence other than “Johnny’s a good guy” and that’s not ideal. It’s not perfect and again it was writtne by an old white guy so of course it isn’t but the fact it gets so much right the more you dig in despitei t’s awwkardness and being written and aired 20 years ago... that is nothing to sneeze at. 

We have more to dig into here too with the manhunters but first moreof the plot: While the other stuff mentioned happens, Superman and Jonn investigate as said.. and we find out WHY superman was supscious: while it was part hunch.. he did in fact have valid reason to suspect something was off, and as we saw actually heard the case against his friend first, and only went against it because the evidence was off.. in that the MOON of the planet is still there and should’ve flown off. He and Jonn soon find a MASSIVE device that John identifies as a bigger version of a toy he had as a kid, something that created images... and again shows whya  PROPER investigation was needed. Had the court actually looked into it instead of presuming John guilty, they would’ve found this thing too. Naturally though Kanjar Ro has followed them and wants to kill them.. but with her subplot wrapped up Hawkgirl went to seei f they needed backup, stealing one of the guard ships which given they attacked people on ap lanet iwth a PUBLIC TRIAL going on without haling them yeah don’t blame her, and kicks his ass. Our heroes find out the truth as I mentioned earlier: Ro was paid to lie and be in on things for an assload of money.. byt he Manhutners.. who at the moment are plotting to strike while Oa, the home of the green lanterns is weak, as the Guardians who created them and monitor them mostly left to go to the trial.

As we catch up with them, THe guardians speak on each lantern being trusted with the ring and given little oversight.. because they pick wisely. The prosecutor just wants John to hang, calls for a sentence, which is death and John and Flash nearly die, in case you thought I was pulling those parallels out of my ass. But Superman rushes in, and in a small, subtle gag he and Jonn do so thorugh a small pain of glass put over where they enterted last time, fight off security and save them, and before prosecutor foot in the ass can harumph about it more.. Superman claims jonn’s innocent..a nd has Shiera smash the generator, showing he indeed is, getting John aquitted. John also attacks Ro, who they brought along as a witness, rightfully so, but the League get him to stop as they don’t have time for that: the Guardians are strangely leaving after that, the manhunters are clearly doing something given their asbent, so John retakes his ring, restored to who he was now knowing he truly WAS innocent and was simply set up.. and he wants to find out why. 

We soon get the why as the Guardians explain the manhunters after the League won’t let them just.. brush by after they aburbtly tried to leave. They AREN’T behind the current attack.. but did create them, feeling robots would be better policeman. They were wrong, with the manhunters lacking empathy, being far too military in their job, and generally not being up for it so they simply gave them smaller jobs as bounty hunters, court balifs that sort of thing ans assumed they were fine because they didn’t say anything. As John puts it perfectly “Not outloud. “ And this itself is the other thing that makes the episode work as an allegory, if a very unteitonal one: The Manhunters are the police as they are now, violent brutes with way too much power, no restraint in using it and no ounce of mercy or sympathy for those they protect. And the Guardians rightfully removed this system, and replaced it with the corps. And while the Corps STILL have a lot of leway and power, being free to investigate on their own provided OA dosen’t call them to do someting specific, and given a ring that can do anything within corps guidelines, which basically means “don’t kill” and “don’t be a dick with it”, the guardians still watch them, do not interfere in trials and choose very wisely. not only that ther’es only one officer per sector, each sector being galaxies wide.. but that’s because that’s only what’s NEEDED. One Lantern with the power to take on entire fleets if needed, which is a fair amount of power given the scope of the job, and come in as requested by the people themselves, honestly isn’t a bad system. Granted the corps is wonky from time to time in the comics as are the guaridans depending on the writer, but at it’s core the corps really sounds like a more responsible versoin of the police: given just the gear necessary, the men necessary, and only called in when truly needed or if they spot a crime in process. THat’s what the people protecting us should be like and that’s why this episode still works. 

Obviously though I was aware of none of this as a kid, and the real reason I loved this episode is this climax. The League arrives on Oa just in time to provide backup. Presumibly the guardians there and incoming with the league simply dont have the power to spare to call for reinforcments. Which is weird but fair enough drama wise and our heroes storm the planet , with the corpsmen from before all showing up to pitch in. But John gets there too late as the head manhunter drains the central power battery, the source of the lantern’s powers, and declares I AM THE POWER, refusing to accept he’s out of date.

 And this, folks is the moment that made me love the lanterns for life. John is outgunned, the wise old wrinkled blue men who gave him his powers drained of there, starring down a massive monster planning to subjigate the universe... and he does not blink. See lanterns are picked for their willpower, their abliity to stare down things like this, and fight anyway, their very rings controlled by this, by their own force of personhood. It’s another reason besides logistics why theires only one per sector: it’s that hard to find one. Earth is so remarkable because , even if it’s simply so we could have more stars in the books over time in real world, we produced not ONE person capable of this.. but 7.. Alan Scott whose not in the corps but whose powers stll work on will and could probably use a regular corps ring very much included. John was chosen because he simply won’t give up. He gave up before.. but it was the right thing to do and ultimately biding his timea nd accepting his trial.. gave his friends time to aquit him and prove he was framed. 

But now is not the time to back down.. now’s the time to stand.. so how does John win? By USING his will, by using the reason he was chosen coupled with ihs own personal dedication and concentration, he grabs his ring as it floats toward the guy, takes it back.. and starts reciting the lantern oath. And since the Manhunter is indeed “The power”.. it means he too can be controlled like any lantern energy. and thus with every bit of willpower he has, struggling all the while but not moving a damn inch, John recites his oath and shoves the monster that framed him, and the power he stole, back into the battery, all while saying an oath so badass it has been etched into my head since thanks to this episode. Say it with me now..

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night No Evil Shall Escape My Sight Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might BEWARE MY POWER, GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT!

And the credit goes to phil lamarr, who delivers the oath with all the gravitas and awesomeness it’s first delivery in this continuty it deserves. It was this that made me a lifelong fan: one man with the power of anytihng using PURE MENTAL STRENGTH AND DETERMiINATION TO SHOVE AN EVIL ENERGY BEING IN A GIANT LANTERN WHILE RECITING A BADASS AND AWE INSPIRING OATH. And if that dosen’t sell you on the Green Lantern’s being awesome I can’t help you and don’t know why your here. 

So wrapup time: The Guardians genuinely thank john, saying they choose well, and John brushes off his fellows corpspersons as they should’ve belivied him and thanks the League for having faith in him even when he didn’t. And while the former part has some.. bad implications we’ve gotten into already, I also can’t entirely blame him given they did it not because he might’ve killed someone but again, because 

Precisley. So our heroes prepare to head home, cue the credits. 

Final Thoughts:

So how does this episode hold up 20 years later? As should be obvious, damn well. It’s a good introduction for the corps, if showing them to be kinda assholes in places, and a good spotlight episdoe for John showing who he is what he stands for and again how TRULY MONUMENTALLY BADASS the man is. And lest you think the comics versoin is any LESS badass, he once got into a sniper duel in with Bedovian, a member of the Sinestro Corps and a crab person.. who was as I forgot till looking it up, THREE SECTORS, which i’ll remind you can comprise entire galaxies, away, with a ring made sniper rifle. In one shot no less. Point is even with some.. wonkier aspects, and ones that aren’t intetnional, it still works and is a shockingly relevant episode 19 years later and the fight scenes, as are standard for the series, are overwhelmingly awesome. Check this one out, and the series as a whole. With its great animation, character work and general badassery this one’s worth a few watches. And obviously given my love of this seires, and it’s 20th anniversay next year, and my love of John, check back here for more John-centric episodes throughout the year as we celebrate the guy. And I will also celebrate the green lantern NAMED guy eventually too, and jessica.. and all of them ebcause I love them all. Yes.. even Hal.  As for which John episode i’m doing next? Easy, one that intorduces me to a character I love who dosen’t get used near enough, Metamorphisis. The when I can’t say QUITE yet as my March schedule is full and most of my ongoing projects are on the backburner so I can tackle two arcs of ducktales, which coincidentally happened to be in time for the finale. That wasn’t planned AT ALL mind you, it just ended up working out really well that way.  For now though tommorow I begin my coverage of the final 4 episodes of ducktales with “Beaks in the Shell” and later this week finish up black history month with blacksad, continue my Lena retrospective with a money shark and some pr work, cover the second season of close enough, celebrate Tex Avery’s birthday and also celebrate the new Tom and Jerry movie.. with the OLD tom and jerry movie. Until then, see you next rainbow. 

[retvenkos]

There have been rumors that sab is going to include six of crows next season. Any thoughts?

whoo, do i have some thoughts™. 

i should preface by saying, though, that if you are excited, good for you! if you think it’s a concept™, it most certainly is, and if you don’t want to see hate for the idea, then do not read ahead. i have some things to say about the idea, and none are too positive.

let’s get into it...

lol, plenty of spoilers ahead. mostly for the six of crows duology.

✧ *:･ﾟ

first of all, let’s hit it from an obvious, show running perspective.

six of crows is a lot™. there is so much happening in that book, and even more happening in crooked kingdom. not only are there new characters to add and explore, but there is new lore and new places that would all have to be hit. already, i felt like shadow and bone season one went fast. there was a lot to establish, and even more to expand upon, and i think there is so much to cover that trying to squeeze it all in would be a disservice to the characters and the world, which is the exact opposite of what the showrunners want, since they are lining up the grishaverse to be the new fantasy hit.

especially when the shadow and bone trilogy is adding in new places and characters, i don’t see the need for them to shoehorn in the six of crows duology. i’m sure there’s plenty for the crows to do, during these following two seasons. in fact, i’d even be fine if they wrote the crows out of the third season (which would ideally follow ruin and rising) entirely and maybe threw in a cameo at the end to get viewers excited for a six of crows show.

basically, there’s so much to cover, and shadow and bone already hit the ground running. i think that adding in the six of crows story arc would be too much of a time crunch, on the runtime of the show.

✧ *:･ﾟ

secondly, i’m ranting about a couple of characters, and how they are not six of crows duology ready.

the easiest one to talk about is kaz brekker, because book!kaz is dirtyhands kaz. our first introduction to kaz in the boks is him telling an opposing gang member that he can’t kill kaz, because if he does, his girlfriend will burn in a fire, and no matter how fast he runs, he won’t get there in time. kaz is like... “do you smell that? i think it’s her hair burning.”

and this is a more mild transgression of dirtyhands kaz. in the same book, kaz pulls a man’s eye out, he swallows lock picks, and he plans and executes the greatest heist of all time.

compare this to kaz in the show. kaz in the show is just a mean, angry boy in comparison. and this isn’t me hating on freddie carter - he did an amazing job. and this isn’t me hating on the writers either. i understand why they did that.

decidedly, there is a lot™ happening in shadow and bone season one. you don’t really get a lot of time with any one character, and if you do, it’s the shadow and bone characters. the showrunners knew they had to make kaz a likeable character to people coming into the series blind, and kaz brekker is a pretty hard character to like when you don’t get his backstory or even the slightest hint of it. part of what the six of crows books had going for it was the changing point of views, and inej’s trust and feelings for kaz. inej narrates a lot of stuff, and she does it in a more sympathetic way, making us give kaz the benefit of the doubt - especially since inej is such an upstanding character. you get a little bit of that is the netflix show, but you can’t get a lot of it because (1) time constraints, and (2) inej and kaz are actually at odds for a lot of the show - especially the opening bit. literally, their first interaction is a fight.

so, to get newer fans invested in this emo teen, they made him less dirtyhands. this is also fine because these events happen before the six of crows duology.

if we start the six of crows arc in season two, however, there is too much growth for kaz to do in between seasons. we need to see some of that on screen. especially since his plans were a bust, and the most dirtyhands thing he did was with the inferni, and he wasn’t the one to kill the inferni - inej was. (and i love that scene like the rest of you, but there could have been other ways to get inej to save kaz while letting kaz show some more of that ruthlessness.)

and that’s just kaz. admittedly, he’s an easy character to pick apart, but we have to talk about a few more.

nina zenik? yeah, let’s talk about her. the six of crows nina we knows has a lot of guilt over what she did to matthias - even if a lot of it is repressed. she has a slew of complex emotions over matthias, and it’s all been fermenting inside of her for a year. point is, in the show nina still thinks what she did was right, and she hasn’t had time to question that inside of herself. sure, in the books she still posits that what she did was justified, but there’s a bit of uncertainty there, caused by the acidity of guilt. i want to see that war inside of nina. it makes their love story all the more compelling.

and while we’re talking about helnik, let’s just cover matthias helvar real quick, because, personally, his character needs that time spent in hellgate, now more than ever.

i’ve already mentioned my beef with aging up matthias is a few other posts, but why don’t i reprise it?

matthias is an incredibly complex character, and part of what makes his change earnest is two things - the struggle he continues to feel throughout the duology, and his age. now stick with me.

part of matthias’ struggle is that he is still that little boy whose family were killed by grisha. in the books, matthias is only 18. that seems mature, but by all accounts, it most definitely isn’t. he doesn’t know anything about the world. he has been training to be a religious soldier, where he was heavily indoctrinated. what has matthias truly seen of the world? likely, very little.

furthermore, because he’s only 18, how many expeditions has he been on? sure, matthias has seen grisha tried for their “crimes” and he has been training against grisha since he was a boy, but do you think they’re putting eleven year old matthias out there, against full grown grisha? my bet is he only started truly hunting grisha when he was 14.

when he meets nina, he hasn’t been hunting grisha long, and he’s young enough to where we could truly see how him being smitten with nina could impact his thoughts.

matthias in the show is played by a man who is 27. no hate, this isn’t ageism, but if he’s been hunting grisha since he was 14, he’s been hunting grisha for 12 years. he has gone out on numerous expeditions. hell, in the show they give matthias a large amount of credit for capturing nina. it is sO much harder for you to buy the “nina is a beautiful grisha and has changed my life” storyline when he’s 27, almost 30. furthermore, this matthias has seen way more grisha trials. the concept that he doesn’t know that grisha aren’t given a fair trial is just absurd, at this point. furthermore, you add on the fact that he’s been indoctrinated longer, and it makes his story all the more difficult to grapple with.

on the one hand, i understand that they aged everyone up (which i was happy about, for the majority of characters. kaz, i am once again looking at you). on the other hand, it puts a huge strain on matthias’ character, and if they were to try to juggle the six of crows plot with the shadow and bone plot, so much nuance would be lost and the majority of new fans would not understand people liking matthias. you would risk alienating his character (and nina’s, by effect) and that is not what either character (or actor!) deserves.

they’ve already made it so hard for us to buy the “nina changes matthias” storyline - even though they’ve made him a tad sweeter and more likeable - and if they try to fast track it, it’s going to fall through.

i think matthias needs his time in hellgate for some soul searching and some struggle. with matthias, the only way out is through, and we need to have time for that to happen.

inej and jesper are a little less difficult to juggle since they’re are done pretty well, but i don’t want to see their complexity and nuance fall through (especially jesper’s) because the show is doing too many things at once.

basically, the crows are currently in their fledgling state, and if they were to be thrown into the six of crows storyline, it would not be nearly as fulfilling.

✧ *:･ﾟ

finally, i just want to say that the overall genre and theme of six of crows and shadow and bone are completely different. i feel like there would be far too much dissonance in the show. you could already feel it in season one, but because alina fears being kidnapped and then she goes on the run, it works. six of crows, though, is a completely different show and i think it would be odd to shift from ~life aboard sturmhond’s ship~ to ~breaking and entering in the ice court~.

✧ *:･ﾟ

anyway, those are my thoughts, anon. surely you didn’t ask for this, but you received it, anyway.

[iphoenixrising]

So. No lie buuuut wow. Your work is well done. What other aus would you tackle if you had the time?? Inquiring minds need to know babe.

Aw, thank-you so much babe! I’m glad you enjoy my works.

Hm, other aus I would tackle (like I for real don’t have enough already LOL) if I had the time and inclination? Welp, there are quite a few tbh. I’ll throw down some of them, but don’t expect to see these any time soon. I have so many half-ass docs I need to finish already, you know?

But here’s a few of them:

- Civilian CEO Au, in which Tim becomes the CEO of Drake Industries and realizes how shady the business practices are. His clean-up attempt means he makes multiple enemies and pretty much gets his ass in danger. Cue some very understanding vigilantes saving his bacon on multiple occasions. And why are the wards of Bruce Wayne showing a sudden interest in WE’s competitor?? (Eventual smut, identity porn, and angst are a must.)

- Alien!Tim Au: Crash landing on Earth, meeting the Teen Titans is more than Tim was hoping for when his ship started malfunctioning close to Earth’s orbit. Word around the galaxy is how bad ass the Justice League is, so most thought human kind is mostly super beings of immense power. Some cute discoveries (how had no one introduced him to pizza before? It’s odd looking but tasty), some crime fighting with alien tech, and learning how humans “make love” with the team captain, Robin! (This one might be fun to do a one-shot or something some day)

- Self-Indulgent Identity Porn Au: what if Tim Drake took it upon himself to find people to train him so he could become a vigilante like Batman and Robin? A world where Tim didn’t go to Dick or Bruce to become a vigilante, but still gets training so he can try to stop Batman from destroying himself after the death of his second Robin. “Batman needs a Robin,” the masked kid tells him softly, “and I’m sorry I can’t be that for you. But what I can do is help you stop destroying yourself. I can help you save Gotham if you let me.” “I can’t have another kid’s death on my hands,” the exhausted vigilante sounds broken, gloved hands lying limp by his sides while the kid is bandaging the bleeding wounds in his abdomen. “Whatever happens is on my head, not yours. I know your Robin died, but I’m sure as hell not him.” What Batman doesn’t know about Sparrow? He’s literally the kid next door.  (I just want to write an au where Tim takes his vigilante career in his own hands, and gets attention from villains and heroes alike when he’s training to become an associate of the Batman.)

- Talon!Tim au: I know, I KNOW. I’ve written short things about Tim taken by the Court of Owls to become the next Talon when the Court failed to get Dick, but I’d really like to explore this idea more. The aftermath after he breaks the Court’s brainwashing more specifically. How does he find a new normal after everything he’s been through?  - Irresistible Omega Tim: Also something I’ve kind of explored when babes brought this up in Asks. I did a post about babe’s idea of Tim holding down Gotham after B gets lost in time here, but I’d really like to take something like this and make it about Dick and Dami coming back to Gotham after some hard talks and soul-searching (basically Dick refusing to let Dami go back to the League of Assassins, dragging him back to Gotham with the argument that Dami would be dishonoring Bruce’s memory and etc.) to find Tim exhausted and beat the hell up after weeks of patrolling on his own.  Not to mention Tim presented while they were gone, so now there’s that.  I want Tim to have a relationship with young Dami that’s positive, with an understanding Tim since he knows Dami’s an abused kid with a horrific background, and Dami doesn’t know what to do with Omega coddling (eventually he sinks into it tho) and Pack Alpha Dick fairly salivating to take care of their Pack Omega. Jay, Cass, and Steph wander in once Tim presents because Omega are the glue of the Pack, and just! Baddies taking an interest in Robin even though he wears scent blockers and suppressants and everything, but Smut, discovery, family, and supportive everyone ever.  The fandom damn well needs this. - Yet another idea for irresistible Tim: What if! Babes, what if, Tim presented during that reunion with Kon after he came back from the dead and B was still lost in time? When Tim called him “Clone Boy” and took off the cowl. Just WHAT IF HE PRESENTED RIGHT THEN? What if Kon, an Alpha because Lex wanted an Alpha heir or whatever, could literally scent the stress and strain on Tim the moment the cowl comes off, can tell everything about Tim’s mental state right at that moment because he’s one of the few people Tim implicitly trusts, is dying inside because he knows he won’t be able to sway Tim away from “the Mission” unless his bestie is literally bleeding out... until Tim starts sweating and swaying, eyes going dazed, scent getting...sweeter? (Ugh, this Tim so battered and beaten down after all the fuckery with Ra’s and losing his spleen, and broken by losing his place as Robin, and just when he’s ready to throw in the towel, when he’s so fucking broken, he fucking presents. After pretty much figuring he’d be just a Beta, no, no, he’s a rare male Omega. A male Omega that smells like everything any Alpha could ever want. Tim glances up when he feels hot all over, even with the cold air on the rooftop passing over them, sees the way Kon’s pupils dilate.  “Kon?” “I need you to come with me,” is abruptly out of his best friend’s mouth, “you’re going to take a break from this Batman hunt and come with me, T.” “Wh-What?” “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you, promise.”

So. SO yeah. Those are a few :D

[orsuliya]

I concur with @dangermousie​. This is hands down one of the best scenes - if not the best! - in this amazing drama. It’s the snap we’ve been waiting for and the biggest middle finger imaginable towards those nobles we so love to hate - all rolled into one epic battle of wills.

Xiao Qi enters the hall, having actually asked for an audience, which means he chooses to adhere to the protocol again... Except that he comes armed and accompanied by six armed Ningshuo soldiers, two big no-nos of royal audiences. Wearing mourning white is the third. Three strikes against Zitan’s authority and he hasn’t even opened his mouth yet!

Oh, and here’s the fourth. Xiao Qi does kneel this time, but he does it in the wrong place and only after Turnip Wang asks him what the hell is he doing, does he not know anything about court etiquette? With such suspicious timing it almost looks like Xiao Qi deigns to kneel only because of this pesky thing called  etiquette, not because of any actual respect towards the Emperor.

But he does kneel! Only now he refuses to get up. This man!!! In episode 60 he weaponized bowing, in episode 61 he did the same with not-bowing and not-kneeling and now he’s unleashing his kneeling skills. I’m afraid to ask what might be next. Oh, and those six Ningshuo soldiers? They kneel only after their Prince does. Sufficiently after to make it clear they’re taking their cue from him and him alone.

Zitan asks what brings Xiao Qi here and gets the same answer everybody has been getting for some time now. Xiao Qi wants justice for his men. Zitan plays the fool and replies that they were already served justice. Prince Yuzhang’s name is cleared and so are theirs. Ooookay. How is that supposed to work? There’s no word of the investigation being completed, so right now it looks like Potato just keeled over and died. And so did a few thousands of good men and mooks. You need to name a guilty party, Zitan. Or scream to the heavens that you shall find the guilty party and condemn them in absentia, whoever they might be. You haven’t done either of those things.,. This whole regicide business hangs in limbo, ergo, no names are completely cleared and no honour restored.

The problem is not that all those nobles don’t understand that this looks suspicious as hell. They do. It’s just they don’t understand why Xiao Qi doesn’t let it go, once his reputation gets restored. Why does he keep pressing on and on? Hu Yao explained the reason for that quite neatly over her brother’s grave. Soldiers - and Ningshuo soldiers most of all - are alright with going to their death for the right cause. Dying in battle is a professional risk, one they’re used to. It’s also honourable. The problem is not that a few hundred men died, it’s that they died due to deception and daggers in the dark, hunted and killed by their own. That’s no death for a soldier!

Zitan and all those nobles will never in a million years understand that, so Xiao Qi might have to use smaller words. Which he does with great aplomb, once it becomes pretty clear that Zitan is not going to lead the mourning ceremony himself. It’s against tradition, you see. Emperors don’t do that for fallen soldiers, only for the Heavens and for their own ancestors. Well, Xiao Qi does not think that imperial ancestors are inherently more worthy than his soldiers.

And so starts the beatdown.

Zitan is all agog and aghast. Xiao Qi dares to force his hand?! He dares to treat Zitan’s autonomy like a football? Oh! Oh! Jail for Xiao Qi! Jail for Xiao Qi for a thousand years!

Xiao Qi attacks right back. The court forced my soldiers, leaving us no way out, he says, looking straight into Zitan’s eyes as I start to understand what is going on here. It’s not that Xiao Qi does not want a mourning ceremony for his men. He absolutely does; he would keep heaping one honour after another upon them if he could. And having the Emperor lead the ceremony himself is undoubtedly an honor, the Emperor being Zitan notwithstanding. But why this insistence, why this merciless attack? Why, it’s psychological warfare time! Xiao Qi doesn’t want any Emperor for this ceremony, he wants Zitan, his primary suspect. I think he’s counting on Zitan being in possession of such alien and unfathomable things as shame and conscience. No luck there, sorry, Xiao Qi. Zitan will absolutely go and mourn his victims. And he’ll smirk inwardly all the while. He’s only resisting now because he hates you for stealing his girl.

After delivering what would be a devastating blow to any somewhat moral human being, Xiao Qi, almost overcome with emotion, turns his back to Zitan and starts tearing into nobility as a class. No, he really does.

Finally someone has the courage to say what needed to be said a long time ago. Xiao Qi has no compunctions calling the nobles out on their uselessness. If not for the lowborn trash like him and his men, who give their lives and blood daily to protect the borders, where would all those fat nobles be? Not enjoying their fortunes, that’s where. And betrayal is what those soldiers got in return.

And you know what, I think he got through to a few of them, which is a miracle in itself. Song Huaien actually looks ashamed of his noble aspirations, though that won’t last long. Zitan, on the other hand, is absolutely unapologetic. No shame to be seen anywhere in his eyes, only something very close to dark joy. I’m starting to think he’s feeding on Xiao Qi’s emotional pain.

Xiao Qi, instead of murdering this psycho for the betterment of society, keeps using his words. He demands proof! No, not proof of guilt (although that would be nice), proof of Zitan actually deserving to keep living. If there is no such proof? Xiao Qi won’t obey. His (!) Ningshuo soldiers won’t obey. And neither will the common people of Cheng.

Can Zitan lower himself to actually doing this one small ceremony in exchange for his life and throne with anything resembling good grace? Is he able to feel even the smallest tinge of conscience? Or perhaps he may be able to let his passive-aggressiveness go out of sheer self-preservation? Yeah, dream on.

As always, he is saved by the bell. Or, in this case, by knees hitting the floor. Song Huaien is the first to kneel, then Turnip, Gu Himbo is third, the rest follows soon after.  And now that it has turned into Zitan vs Ministers, he folds. Why wouldn’t he? It’s not like he cares about anything other than sticking it to Xiao Qi. And he’ll find ample opportunity, no worries about that.

Pity he doesn’t have his bow, he’d try to shoot Xiao Qi dead. What? Knowing his skill, he’d miss anyway!